Addictive Carrot-Quinoa Salad with Lemon-Tahini Dressing

Name: Addictive Carrot-Quinoa Salad with Lemon-Tahini Dressing
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: ½ cup Quinoa (1/2 cup quinoa, I like red for color, optional, see notes above) — optional; 0 tsp Kosher Salt (kosher salt + 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste + 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste); ½ cup Water (1/2 cup water); ½ cup Tahini (1/2 cup well-stirred tahini); 1 clove Garlic (1-2 cloves garlic finely minced — up to 2); ¼ cup Lemon Juice (1/4 cup fresh lemon juice); 1 tsp Maple Syrup (1 teaspoon maple syrup, plus more to taste); 1 ½ lb Carrot (1.5 lbs. carrots, scrubbed well, ends trimmed, peeled if very dirty (about a pound post trimming)); ⅔ cup Pine Nuts (2/3 cup pine nuts or other nut, optional) — optional; 1 cup Parsley (1 cup finely minced parsley, plus more to taste)

Addictive Carrot-Quinoa Salad with Lemon-Tahini Dressing - Grain Salad (Middle Eastern)

35 minMiddle Eastern

Servings6

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Steps

1Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add 2 teaspoons kosher salt. Add the quinoa and cook for 10-12 minutes or until you see the white tail begin to pop from the kernels. Drain through a fine-mesh sieve. Set aside.
2Meanwhile, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Taste. I like to add another teaspoon of maple syrup and more salt to taste. Set aside.
3If your carrots are especially dirty, peel them. Otherwise, simply wash them. Trim the ends. Send them down the chute of your food processor fitted with the shredder attachment. Transfer to a large bowl. Season with a teaspoon of kosher salt and toss. Set aside.
4In a medium skillet, toast the pine nuts over medium heat watching closely the entire time. Stir frequently. When the nuts are toasty, remove the skillet from the heat.
5Add the quinoa, pine nuts, and parsley to the bowl with the carrots. Add the dressing. Toss to coat. It may be easiest to toss with your hands. Taste. Adjust as needed with more salt or lemon. Serve immediately or pack into containers and stash in the fridge.