roasted carrot quinoa salad // cranberry chutney

The day before Thanksgiving marked the official end of the garden, the last of the carrots and leeks were harvested for our big Thanksgiving Dinner. Luckily, there were more carrots and leeks than needed for Thursday's dinner leaving me with a nice little stockpile of orange beauties and tender stalks of pale green goodness. After our decadent meal and loads of sweets I was certainly looking forward to a lighter healthier weekend lunch and better yet, put to good use some of the last of my garden's bounty.

Tender leeks are roasted with tender little carrots. Isn't it amazing how "orange" a freshly pulled carrot tastes? There is nothing to compare it too - it is just so carroty!

After the carrots & leeks are roasted they are tossed with a simple tri color quinoa and topped with cranberry chutney & fresh persimmons and sprinkled with a few carrot fronds.

I love the tart flavor with a hint of sweetness the cranberries add to the overall dish, the color contrast is quite nice too.

This salad managed to hit on all the things I was looking for in a "post holiday" meal. Healthy vegetables, good protein from the quinoa & antioxidants from the cranberries. Can I tell you something? Up until this day I had never tasted a persimmon! Wow, the flavor & texture was completely unexpected - it was incredible, I think I may have found my new favorite fall fruit.

What is your favorite way to use persimmons - I need ideas! Do you have a ritual after the Holiday's Detox?

Roasted Carrot Quinoa Salad ~ Cranberry Chutney

serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side

you will need:

6 small leeks, trimmed and washed (or 2 large)

28 baby carrots or 3 large - left whole or cut in half/quarters depending on size

2 tsp canola oil

1 cup of tri color quinoa (well rinsed) + 2 cups of water for cooking

salt to taste

1 persimmon peeled and diced

1/4 cup cranberry chutney

carrot fronds or parsley for garnish

assembly:

pre heat oven to 350*

prep veggies and spread evenly on a rimmed baking sheet - toss with canola oil and roast for 25 minutes until tender and caramelized.

in a medium sauce pan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil- add rinsed quinoa. reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes. turn off burner and allow to sit for 10 minutes prior to removing the cover.

to assembly the final dish - spread the cooked quinoa on the bottom of your serving dish, layer the roasted carrots and leeks on top of the quinoa, spread the cranberry chutney  over the roasted veggies, sprinkle with persimmons, fronds & salt.

to make your own chutney, place 1 bag of cranberries in a sauce pot, add 1/4 cup orange juice, 1/2 cup coconut sugar & a small dice jalapeno - boil until cranberry mixture thickens & sugar dissolves.