As a main course salad, anything grain-based is more of a "bowl". The difference here is that I'm not going to the effort to arrange everything pretty. It's getting tossed.
I considered many kinds of dressing for this one. Miso-tahini was far up on the list. Then I decided to pick up the tang of the turnips and do miso-horseradish. The horseradish root from April was dried out and had to be tossed. Ok, a basic white wine vinaigrette, heavy on the vinegar, with a shallot marinated into it.
I harvested a couple of carrots, but also bought some. The carrot out of the pond was normal and about the size I was expecting. The one I accidentally grew in the lettuce patch seemed the same size from the top, but only grew a short way into the dense clay soil. And that's why I don't grow root vegetables in the lettuce patch.I'm calling my four radish-sized turnips equivalent to one from the store. Probably not, and I wished they were more evenly represented in the dish. The plants were dying in only 80º weather. I'll try again in the fall.
This was a do-ahead meal. I cooked the quinoa and vegetables the day before and refrigerated them separately. The shallot dressing marinated overnight in its own bowl. All I had to do on the day was toss everything together.
*1 C dry quinoa
1/2 lb carrots
1 head cauliflower
*1 turnip
3 Tb olive oil, plus more for the veggies
3 Tb white wine vinegar (or less for a more mild dressing)
1 shallot
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp dried rosemary, or 1 Tb fresh
1 tsp parsley flakes, or 1 Tb fresh
1/4 tsp white pepper
3. Roast vegetables until softened and starting to brown, about 30 minutes. Set aside to cool.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the 3 Tb oil, vinegar, salt, white pepper, rosemary, and parsley. Taste and adjust seasonings. Peel shallot and slice thinly. Toss shallot in the dressing and allow to marinate while the other components of the salad are cooling to room temperature.5. Toss together the quinoa and vegetables. Drizzle with the shallot dressing and toss to distribute. Chill until ready to serve. I chose to garnish with some vegan feta that I had a coupon for. It tastes like feta, but doesn't have the protein, so I added a sprinkle of slivered almonds.Difficulty rating :)