Blood oranges. This little orange is fascinating to me. The melding of colors both inside and out. The slight sweetness contrasted by the tart. It is a work of art. So… when you get excited to see them for a great price at the farmers market and buy one too many pounds of them? Make this salad. Or just simply make this salad because it is a bright burst of sunshine and good ingredients. Your body will thank you.

Now there is a little bit of prep work to pull this salad together. First is the dressing. Zest from the blood orange and lemon. Juice from the blood orange and lemon. Chopped up scallions and some spices brought together with a bit of olive oil.

Toasted cumin. Smoked paprika. Coriander. Salt.

Oh! Use a mason jar. Best way to mix dressings. Period.

Shake shake.

Viola. No mess, no fuss. Thoroughly mixed.

Dice up some roasted beets. Segment the blood orange. Chop the avocado.

Combine all of the above with some cooked quinoa.

Now you have the option of either mixing the beets in the salad or topping the salad with them. I chose to do the latter because it makes for a much prettier picture.

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Beet, Blood Orange & Quinoa Salad

Adapted from Cooking Light

Dressing

• 2 teaspoons blood orange zest
• 2 tablespoons blood orange juice (about 2 medium blood oranges)
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon toasted ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients into a mason jar and shake. Set aside while preparing the the salad.

Salad

• 2 cups of cooked quinoa (that’s 1 cup uncooked quinoa cooked according to package directions)
• 2 roasted golden beets
• 3 blood oranges, segmented
• 1/2 of an avocado, diced

Lightly toss the quinoa with the beets, blood orange segments and avocado. Note: For a prettier serving option, don’t mix the beets in at this point. But instead top each serving with a quater of the diced beets.

Give the dressing a couple shakes and pour over the quinoa mixture. Gently mix well.

Makes 4 – 1 cup servings.