From Bon Appetit 2014 Food Lover's Cleanse

This combination and modification of three Bon Appetit recipes goes excellent together and produces a follow-up salad for lunches or a dinner later in the week. The Tahini sauce needs to be done at least 1 day in advance, and the vegetable roasting can largely be done ahead as well.

Serves 2 with leftovers for a salad (see below).

Roasted Vegetables

1 lb beets, peeled, cut into ½" wedges
1 lb carrots, sliced ¼" thick
1 lb Jerusalem artichokes (also called sunchokes), unpeeled, sliced ¼" thick
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
¼ teaspoon hot paprika, plus more to taste
Dash red pepper flakes
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, divided, plus more to taste
2 cups watercress or spinach, large stems trimmed

Preheat oven to 425°.
Prep all vegetables.

Toss beets with 1 Tbsp. oil on a lightly oiled rimmed baking sheet; arrange in a single layer and season with salt and black pepper.
Roast 20 minutes, then turn over wedges and continue to roast until beets are tender and darkened around the edges, about 30 minutes total.
Do-ahead: roast beets for 20 minutes, allow to cool, flip, and store in fridge until ready to eat. When ready to eat, cook for 10 more minutes or until darkened around edges.

Toss carrots with 1 Tbsp. oil on one half of a lightly oiled rimmed baking sheet.
Toss Jerusalem artichokes with 1 Tbsp. oil on the other half of the baking sheet.
Arrange carrots and Jerusalem artichokes in a single layer, season with salt and black pepper, and roast until vegetables are lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
Do-ahead: Roast vegetables for 10 minutes, allow to cool, and store in fridge until ready to eat. When ready to eat, cook for 10 more minutes or until lightly browned.

Toss all the warm roasted vegetables together with lemon zest, ¼ tsp. Aleppo pepper, and 1 tsp. lemon juice.
Season with salt, Aleppo pepper, and lemon juice.
Reserve 1 cup vegetables for salad leftovers.

Toss watercress/spinach with remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 Tbsp. lemon juice; season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Serve roasted vegetables with dressed watercress and tahini sauce.

Quinoa with Walnuts and Shallots

¼ cup walnuts
1 cup red quinoa
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 shallots, sliced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

In a 350° oven or on the stovetop, toast walnuts on a small rimmed baking sheet, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and slightly darkened in color, 6–8 minutes.
Let cool; coarsely chop.

Meanwhile, thoroughly rinse quinoa; drain.

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Add shallots and ½ tsp. salt; stir to coat.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots have softened, about 5 minutes.

Add quinoa and stir to coat.
Pour in 1½ cups water, increase the heat, and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and cover.
Cook until quinoa is tender and the germ has unfurled, 15–18 minutes.
Season with salt.
Just before serving, toss in toasted walnuts.

Reserve ½ cup quinoa for salad leftovers.

Green Tahini Sauce

2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more
1 bunch watercress, thick stems trimmed
1 cup fresh mint leaves
½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
½ cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
2 tablespoons (or more) fresh lemon juice

Cook garlic in a medium saucepan of boiling salted water until slightly softened, about 30 seconds.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer garlic to a bowl of ice water; let cool.

Return water in saucepan to a boil.
Cook watercress, mint, and parsley just until wilted, about 15 seconds; drain.
Transfer watercress and herbs to ice water; let cool.
Drain watercress, herbs, and garlic and squeeze between paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible
Coarsely chop.

Purée watercress, herbs, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, 1 tsp. salt, and ¼ cup water in a blender until smooth, thinning with more water as needed to reach desired consistency; season with salt and more lemon juice, if desired.

Roasted Vegetable Salad (made with leftovers)

Thin approximately 1/4 cup of tahini sauce with the juice of 1 lemon. Adjust proportions to taste.
Toss dressing with reserved vegetables, reserved quinoa, and additional watercress/spinach to a large bowl.
Top with additional toasted walnuts.