Place lemon juice, walnuts, onion, garlic, and salt in blender and blend until very smooth.
Add water and seasonings and pulse once or twice to combine. Set aside.
Prepare salad:
Place quinoa and place in a mixing bowl.
(If your quinoa is freshly cooked and still warm, you do not need to allow it to cool before adding to the mixing bowl. It can be added while still warm.)
Peel and shred carrot and add to quinoa. (I use the large shredding blade on my food processor to shred the vegetables for this salad.)
Peel and shred beets and add to bowl.
Cut onion into very thin slivers and add to bowl.
Pour about half of the dressing over top of salad and mix. Reserve remaining dressing to add to salad later if desired. You may or may not use all the dressing, depending on your taste.
If quinoa was hot when added, chill for at least 30 minutes. Otherwise, skip this step; salad can be served immediately or stored in refrigerator for up to 3 days before serving.
Before serving, finely chop greens and sprinkle over salad along with chopped walnuts.
Garnish with fresh thyme leaves, chopped rosemary leaves, and lemon wedges.
Notes
To cook quinoa:Bring 2/3 cup water to boil in a medium saucepan. Add 1/3 cup uncooked quinoa to boiling water, cover, return to boil, and then reduce heat. Simmer for 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. (Cooking time will vary depending on how hot your stove burner is.) Remove from heat and fluff with fork.Prep Time:I use my food processor (the large shredding blade) to shred the vegetables for this salad. Saves time and shredded knuckles. If you shred by hand, plan for a few extra minutes in prep time. Variation:If you like more greens in your salad, serve on a bed of greens.