Roasted asparagus and green onion with quinoa, pickled beets carpaccio and preserved lemon vinaigrette

So I had the pickled beets from another recipe and wanted to use them with the rest of the Quinoa that I had cooked the day before. Since I sliced the beets very thin I thought they would be good as carpaccio layer under the quinoa, and then topped it with roasted asparagus and beautiful green Onion I got at the market the other day.

I wasn’t quite sure how to plate it so tried two different ways that you see above and  below. One suits a more substantial salad, the other a first course. In the image below the quinoa is contained in a quick pickled cucumber ring and lined on one side with pickled beets.

Let me know what you think.

Enoy.

 

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Serve about 4

Ingredients:

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1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
2 tablespoons of the preserved lemon dressing (below)
Salt and pepper
Toasted nuts, roughly chopped  (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts)

1 bunch asparagus
1 bunch green onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper

2 beets, thinly sliced on a mandolin
2/3 cup white vinegar
4 tablespoon sugar
A tablespoon of cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon coarse salt

Preserved lemon vinaigrette:

1/3 cup preserved lemon peel, chopped
Juice from 1 small lemon
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
A pinch of sugar

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Directions:

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Quinoa:

Place quiona and water in a pot with a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook, covered, until the water is absorb. Remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes to allow the quinoa to fluff up. When ready, drizzle some of the dressing over the quinoa, just to wet it a bit, not too much. Season with salt and pepper.

Asparagus and green onion:

Line a baking sheet with foil, spread asparagus and green onion over and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat the vegetables with the oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in 400F oven for a few minutes until done buy be careful not to overcook, about 8-10 minutes depending on the size of the vegetables.

Pickled beets:

Slice the beets thinly on a mandolin.
Combine the vinegar, sugar, pepper and salt and mix until the sugar dissolves.
Pour dressing over the beets and let sit for 10 minutes or longer.

Preserved lemon vinaigrette:

Combine all the ingredients in a small jar, secure with lid and shake to combine the dressing ingredients. Taste to correct seasoning.

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Assembling:

Arrange a few slices of beet on the bottom of the serving plate.

Pile a mound of quinoa in the center over the beets.

Arrange the asparagus and green onion over the quinoa.

Scatter a few salad leaves around.

Drizzle with a little additional dressing and serve the remaining dressing on the side.

Note: If you choose the presentation of placing the quinoa inside the cucumber ring make a long ribbon with the an english cucumber using a mandolin. Create a ring by putting the ends together and securing them with a dab of cream cheese. You can pickle the cucumber for a few minutes before assembling in the same pickling liquid you used for the beets but separate, so the colours don’t run.

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