This warm ginger glazed carrot quinoa salad with onions and fresh herbs will knock your socks off. This recipe has a bit of heat, a bit of sweetness, and a lot of savory. There are crunchy almonds and lemony kale that add flavor and extra nutrients.
Have you seen the show Grace and Frankie yet? It’s a real kick. I watched one entire season with my mom. We would get together a few times a month and binge-watch together. The new season is out and I’m really excited to sit by the fire tonight, eat this Warm Ginger Glazed Carrot Quinoa Salad and sip a glass of wine. Who’s with me?
This recipe is a great on-the-go lunch as well. Store it in the fridge in air-tight containers that you can quickly grab and take to work, the park, or in the car for a post-gym meal. Speaking of the gym, I’ve spent a year working on building muscle mass and getting lean. It’s been so rewarding. Do any of you guys work out? Let me know in the comments. I share some of my workout milestones on Instagram, in case you don’t follow along, check out my handstands progress here.
How To Make Warm Ginger Glazed Carrot Quinoa Salad
On a less happy note, while making this dish, I accidentally erased my photos of the maple ginger glazed carrots and onions (my apologies). Hopefully, you don't need those photos and you get the idea. The kale should be prepped ahead like the image above. Be sure to add lemon and massage it really well before adding it to your warm quinoa. This will help with digestion and make it more palatable.
Cook the carrots and onion in olive oil and toasted sesame oil over medium heat. Add ginger, maple syrup, tamari, red chili flakes, sea salt, and garlic.
Finally, you will want to add the raw marinated kale and cooked quinoa. Garnish with herbs and nuts.
I love this salad and have made it many times for pot lucks and dinner parties. It’s a great side dish and it makes a really well-balanced main dish as well. People love the mixture of savory, sweet, and spicy combined with all the different textures. It’s healthy and delicious, what more could you ask for?
WARM GINGER GLAZED CARROT QUINOA SALAD
Ingredients
- 1 cup Dry quinoa
- 2 cups Water
- 3 cloves Garlic minced or chopped
- ½ cup Yellow, white or red onion
- 1 ½ tablespoon Olive oil extra virgin
- 2 tablespoon Toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon Tamari
- 3 teaspoon Honey or maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon Fresh grated ginger (or from a jar)
- ½ teaspoon Sea salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon Red chili flakes or fresh jalapeño chopped
- 1 ½ cup Carrots (approx 6) chopped
- 1 ½ cup Kale julienned
- ⅓ cup Lemon juice
- 1 handful Fresh cilantro or mint
- 1 handful toasted sesame seeds or almonds or pecans
Instructions
- In a sauce pan add water and quinoa. Bring to the boil. Then cover with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes.
- While it’s cooking, add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a frying pan and add the chopped onion and minced garlic. Cook until onion is translucent.
- Add 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon olive oil, tamari, freshly grated ginger, honey or maple syrup, sea salt and chili flakes.
- Immediately add the chopped carrots. Cook until carrots are soft, about 10 additional minutes. They will start to blacken if you let them cook on medium. Using a metal spatula scrape bottom of the pan and keep cooking until caramelized. About 5-10 more minutes. Don’t let them burn.
- When quinoa is finished cooking, add ½ teaspoon olive oil and pinch of sea salt. Stir until fluffy.
- In a separate bowl add chopped kale, squeeze of lemon juice and ½ teaspoon olive oil. Using your hands massage the kale really well and let sit for a minute or two.
- Combine the quinoa with the caramelized carrots. Stir well. Add the kale mixture and toss again.
- Serve warm. Top with chopped fresh mint or cilantro, toasted sesame seeds or chopped toasted almonds or pecans.
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