Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad

So now you have made your own harissa.  What can you do with it?  Harissa has a bit of a kick due to chilies which are in it.  Below is a recipe which conveniently uses exactly the same amount as the harissa recipe I posted.  This also is based upon at home in the whole food kitchen.  This recipe uses a bunch of fresh vegetables which are then roasted to bring out their sweetness, tossed with quinoa and harissa to balance out the flavors.  It also store well and although best eaten at room temperature, it is also delicious cold if you are like me and can't wait for it to be brought to room temperature before eating it.

Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad with Harissa

serves 4-6

2 medium zucchini, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 medium red, orange or yellow peppers, seed and cut into 1 inch pieces

2 cups cherry tomatoes

5 -6 tablespoons olive oil, divided

sea salt

1 medium onion, cut into 1/2 inch wedges

4 cups cooked quinoa, cooled to room temperature

1/3 cup harissa

1/2 cup chopped flat leafed parsley

5 oz. feta cheese (I really like the 360 brand at whole foods)

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Line 2 baking sheet with parchment paper.  Place zucchini, peppers, tomatoes in a large bowl and toss with 3-4 tablespoons olive oil and about a 1/2 teaspoons salt.  Divide the vegetables between the two parchment lined baking sheets and place in the preheated oven to roast for about 30 minutes.  Be sure vegetables are in a single flat layer or it will roast unevenly.  Stir vegetables every 10 minutes to ensure even browning.  Once vegetables are lightly browned, remove from oven and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Warm the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Once the oil is hot, add the onion and saute for about 5-6 minutes or until just turning lightly brown.  Cook on lower heat for another 10-15 minutes to caramelize the onions.  Stir every couple of minutes to ensure that the onion doesn't burn.

Transfer quinoa to a large bowl.  Fluff with a fork and then add the harissa to the quinoa.  Mix well.  Add the roasted vegetables, onion and parsley.  Toss to combine.  Taste and season with salt as needed.  Crumble the feta cheese over the top.

Roasted Vegetable Orzo

When you have a lot of vegetables and are not sure what to do with them, try this recipe.  The orzo reminds me of a rice based dish, but in reality it is more like a pasta salad.  You can mix up any kinds of vegetables to get a different taste or feel.  I meant to put kale into this salad, but once the roasted leaves came out of my oven, I devoured them.  If you can resist try them in this salad.  Roasting the vegetables sweetens the vegetables which makes this salad.  If you haven't cooked with orzo before, you should try it.  It cooks up easily and mixes well with any variety of vegetables and dressings.  The inspiration for this salad came from 101 cookbooks author Heidi Swanson.  If you haven't checked out her blog you should.

Roasted Veggie Orzo Salad
Roasted vegetables (I used brussel sprouts, broccoli, leeks, garlic and onions)
olive oil
salt
1 1/4 cups orzo (uncooked)
plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 400F.  Line  1-2 baking sheets with parchment paper (depends on how many vegetables you are roasting).  Cut all the vegetables (about 5-6 cloves of garlic) into similar sized pieces so they will all roast at the same rate.  Toss all the vegetables with olive oil and salt.  Bake for about 30 minutes.  Toss once or twice to make sure everything is roasted evenly.

Put water on to boil to cook the orzo.  Add salt.  When boiling add the orzo and cook according to package instructions.  Remove and run under cool water.  Toss with a little olive oil.  For dressing, remove the shell from the roasted garlic and mash it with a little salt and yogurt.  Add more yogurt (about a half cup in total) and add more garlic to taste.

When ready to serve, toss the orzo, roasted vegetables and yogurt (start with half and adjust for taste).  For topping you can use toasted sesame or pumpkin seeds, and/or scallions.