When winter rolls around, if you take a drive in the suburbs of Amman, you are likely to see beautiful displays of carrots, beets, lettuce and fennel on the side of the road. The farms around Amman harvest them early in the morning and set up displays to sell their colorful mounds of vegetables. I never manage to take a picture of them because I am always the one driving when I see them!

For years, I had struggled with beets! I HATE soft and mushy beetroot (canned beets and boiled beets, I am looking at you!) There is something about their intense earthiness paired with the soft texture that I found unappealing. Then I discovered raw grated beets and everything changed! Now I love adding them to my salads for a pop of colour and nutritional value. Today’s salad in particular is actually a recipe that I buy beets for whenever I can. The combination of colours and flavours with the fresh and tangy dressing is the perfect way to fight the winter blues.

What I love about this salad is that it is versatile. If you don’t have quinoa on hand you can totally use bulgur or cooked freekeh to replace it and if you don’t have avocados you can leave them out or use cucumbers instead.
If you would like to take it up a notch, add crumbled feta on top.

Avocado-licious Quinoa Salad with Beets and Oranges

2 cups cooked quinoa
2 cups parsley leaves roughly chopped
2 beets washed and scrubbed then grated
1 avocado peeled and cut into cubes
2 oranges, peeled and cut into 1 cm rounds then divided into quarters

Lemon Mustard and Oregano Dressing
Juice of 2 lemons
2 teaspoons mustard
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/3 cup  olive oil
2 tablespoons vinegar

Instructions

1. Start by whisking the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl then set aside.
   Alternatively, you can place all the ingredients in a jar, secure the lid then shake till the dressing is homogenous.
2. In a bowl add the quinoa, parsley, beets, avocado and orange segments.
3. Add the salad dressing immediately before serving and toss to combine.