Quick Cook: A veggie quinoa salad for January’s healthy eating resolutions

At the start of a new year, I like to have lots of healthy options at the ready to get me back into the swing of my usual, non-holiday lifestyle. That means filling my fridge with soups, stews and — my favorite — grain-based salads for simply spooning into a bowl for a quick, satisfying meal that I don’t have to cook in the moment.

This quinoa salad is a good one, filled with colorful winter veggies like beets, squash, cauliflower and spinach and spiced with a complex, sweet-savory spice blend from Morocco called Ras el Hanout. Throw in whatever dried fruit you have on hand and some toasted almonds, and you have yourself a complete, balanced and undeniably delicious meal.

Ras el Hanout can be purchased from most grocery stores and spice shops. You can also make your own by combining spices such as ginger, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, allspice, and clove. Or you can substitute other spice blends, such as garam masala, for a different flavor profile.

I make up a jar of pickled onions once or twice a week and just keep it in my fridge for throwing into salads, tacos, beans and grain salads like this one. I encourage you to do the same so you can skip the pickling time when you make this recipe.

Spiced Winter Veggie Quinoa

Serves 8 to 10

INGREDIENTS

1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 butternut squash, peeled and diced

1 bunch beets, peeled and diced (if greens and stems are attached, chop those too)

1 small cauliflower, chopped into florets

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons Ras el Hanout

Salt and fresh cracked pepper

1 2/3 cups uncooked quinoa

2 cups salted vegetable broth

3 cups fresh baby spinach

1⁄4 cup fresh chopped mint, loosely packed

1⁄3 cup dried tart cherries, currants, or cranberries

1⁄2 cup toasted sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS

Combine the sliced onion, lemon juice, and a generous sprinkling of salt in a jar with a lid. Shake to coat evenly and set aside to allow the onions to pickle for at least 40 minutes, turning the jar over 180 degrees after about 20 minutes. Can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Toss the butternut squash, beets (and beet greens and stems if using) and cauliflower with the olive oil, Ras en Hanout and salt and pepper on a large sheet pan. Roast in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the vegetables are tender and golden.

While the vegetables are roasting, combine the quinoa and vegetable broth in a medium saucepan with a lid. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 15 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed, and the quinoa is al dente.

Immediately turn the hot quinoa out in a large salad bowl and toss with the baby spinach in order to wilt the spinach slightly. Add the roasted vegetables, mint and dried cherries to the quinoa mixture and drizzle with about 2 tablespoons of the pickling liquid from the onions. Toss to combine; taste and adjust seasoning. Top with the pickled onions and almonds and serve.

Registered dietitian and food writer Laura McLively is the author of “The Berkeley Bowl Cookbook.” Follow her at @myberkeleybowl and www.lauramclively.com.