Red Quinoa & Roasted Vegetable Salad

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven, then preheat to 450°F. Heat a medium pot of salted water and a small saucepan of water to boiling on high. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil. Wash and dry the fresh produce. Cut off and discard any stems from the fennel. Halve the bulb lengthwise; cut out and discard the core, then thinly slice. Cut off and discard the stems of the sweet peppers; remove and discard the cores, then quarter lengthwise. Place the sliced fennel and quartered peppers on the sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Arrange in an even layer. Roast 17 to 19 minutes, or until browned and tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from the oven.

While the vegetables roast, thoroughly rinse the quinoa under cold water. Add to the medium pot of boiling water and cook, uncovered, 16 to 18 minutes, or until tender. Turn off the heat. Drain thoroughly and return to the pot. Cover to keep warm.

While the quinoa cooks, carefully add the eggs to the small saucepan of boiling water and cook exactly 9 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water 30 seconds to 1 minute to stop the cooking process. When cool enough to handle, carefully peel. Transfer to a cutting board and thinly slice crosswise; season with salt and pepper.

While the eggs cook, finely chop the shallot, discarding any liquid. Pit and roughly chop the dates. Cut off and discard the stem of the pepperoncini; finely chop. Halve the orange; squeeze the juice into a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chopped shallot, dates, and pepperoncini; season with salt and pepper.

To the pot of cooked quinoa, add the roasted vegetables, almonds, cheese (crumbling before adding), dressing, and a drizzle of olive oil. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve the finished quinoa topped with the seasoned eggs and a drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy!