Roasted Broccoli Quinoa Salad w/ Marcona Almonds

What DOESN'T quinoa go well with?
I have paired it with just about everything......so adding it to roasted broccoli just seemed normal to me.

We loved this combination. If you haven't tried roasting broccoli, you are missing out. It is revolutionary (well, maybe that's going a bit too far, but it is delicious!).

I like finding new greens to use in salads......here I used Chinese red spinach, also known as amaranth. New to me, but so pretty, I had to buy it at the Asian market. Also threw in some wintercress flowers which were foraged by Henry!

Roasted Broccoli w/ Quinoa & Marcona Almonds:

1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets
olive oil & kosher salt for roasting
1 cup of quinoa
2 cups water
1/3 cup feta cheese
1/3 cup Marcona almonds
big handful of watercress or Chinese red spinach (also known as red amaranth)

Dressing:

juice of a lemon
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp olive oil
sea salt & pepper

Whisk dressing with a fork, and set aside.

Cut broccoli into florets and drizzle w/ olive oil and kosher salt on a heavy sheet pan. I line my pans with parchment paper lately for easier cleanup.

Roast the broccoli at 400F for 20 minutes, turning them over one time during roasting.

While the broccoli is cooking, make the quinoa. Add 2 cups of water to the quinoa and simmer about 20 minutes until liquid is evaporated. Fluff up with a fork and add to a big bowl.

Add in the cooked broccoli and Marcona almonds to the cooked quinoa in the bowl.
Pour the dressing over this mixture and season with sea salt & pepper.

Add in the amaranth or watercress at the end. Scatter some crumbled feta over the top.

Best served at room temperature.

My new favorite quinoa salad!