This was a delicious meal as we start to feel warmer weather and lighten our fare. We love to highlight seasonal vegetables and this was easy to achieve! And it ain't bad to look at either! Carrots and beets made the quinoa pink and extra earthy. The tangy bitter grapefruit vinaigrette brightened the rich tempeh and spicy yogurt topping. I also cheated a bit and used some very flavorful hot sauce( El Yucateca), crispy onion topping and Tajin seasoning-it has dehydrated lime for a tangy kick.
Overall, this was a satisfying, well balanced dish to keep me going midday rather than weigh me down. I made the quinoa salad the night before to let the flavors marinate. So all I had to do was fry up some tempeh and whip the crema. Easy peasy.
The salad:
2 C cooked quinoa
1 C chopped cilantro
1 red beet-grated
1 carrot-grated
1/3 red onion-sliced thin or minced
sprinkle of salt and pepper
Add all the ingredients together and mix well.
Dressing:
1/2 C olive oil
1/2 C fresh grapefruit juice
1/2 C fresh orange juice
1/2 lime juice
1 T cumin seeds
1 t chili powder
1 t good salt
*Mix with a whisk or blender. Add the dressing to salad and mix well.
Tempeh:
1 cake black bean tempeh
1/2 c high heat oil
sprinkle of good salt
*Cube or slice tempeh. Get the oil nice and hot and add tempeh. Brown on most sides and place on a paper towel lined plate. Let rest for 5 minutes. Add salt and add to salad.
Crema:
1 cup whole fat greek yogurt(or whatever yogurt you prefer)
1 T grapefruit juice
1 T el yucateca hot sauce(or your favorite hot sauce)
A sprinkle of Tajin(optional)
A sprinkle of good salt
Mix together in a bowl and add a dollop to the salad. Top dish with fried onions, extra cilantro, some tajin and/or more hot sauce if you so desire!
Serves 3-4 and makes great leftovers.
ENJOY!
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