It’s been a while since I posted a recipe. It’s certainly not because I haven’t been cooking because there is always a lot of cooking happening at the AW residence. It’s probably down to the fact that I just have so much travel content to share with you all. However, this week I am taking a break from very travel-centric posts and writing about my Very Green Quinoa Salad that I recently rustled up in my kitchen.
Before you shy away from the word green salad, don’t worry, it’s not just leaves! It is, in fact, quite substantial because the base is quinoa, a very rich source of plant-based protein. It has all the flavours going – hot, sweet, salty and sour. That’s why I call it the Salad that doesn’t Suck 😉
It’s a very simple, vegetarian salad that can be eaten warm or cold and is great for packing up in the lunchbox for the next day. It’s also perfect if you are into meal planning. Cook the quinoa and prep the veggies in advance. All that remains is the dressing and assembly.
So, why is it green? The entire idea of this salad came from the fact that I had frozen parsley paste sitting in my freezer. Before going away on a holiday, I had blended a bunch of fresh but leftover parsley into a paste and chucked into the freezer. We all like to avoid wastage, don’t we? So, all I really wanted to do was use up that parsley paste and hence the Green Quinoa Salad 😉
Spinach puree would work great as well (probably make it healthier, too).
Looking for more spinach recipes? I think you’ll like my Moroccan-style Chickpea and Spinach Soup.
Now, I added roasted broccoli and sweet potatoes but so many vegetables work here. You could add roasted mixed peppers, onions, carrots, courgettes, butternut squash or mushrooms. Go for whatever floats your boat/whatever is in season/whatever is available in the fridge 😉
Some might say that two dressings are a bit too much but it works really well. You can always use only dressing 1 because that one doesn’t require any pre-planning. I have mentioned way too many options to keep it flexible so go ahead and adapt it to your taste 🙂
Ingredients:
1 cup Quinoa, washed
1 cup fresh flat-leaf Parsley
1 clove of Garlic
1 Veg Stock Cube
1 cup Broccoli, cut into small florets
1 cup Sweet Potato, cut into small chunks
10 almonds, soaked for at least 6-8 hours.
2 Jalapeños (or 1 deseeded green chilli)
1 tbsp Maple Syrup (or honey)
1 tbsp Sriracha Sauce (or any hot sauce)
Handful of Pumpkin Seeds (optional)
100 g Pomegranate Seeds
Feta cheese
Olive oil
Lime juice
Salt & Pepper
Method:
- Add 1 tsp of olive oil and some salt & pepper to the sweet potato and broccoli and make sure they are coated well.
- In a pre-heated oven, roast the veggies for about 20 minutes at 180 °C.
- Blend the parsley, garlic and the stock cube into a fine paste using some water.
- Cook the parsley paste in a pot and when it starts to boil and reduce, add the quinoa. Add 1.5 cups of water and salt & pepper to taste. Cover and cook for about 10-15 minutes. You will know the quinoa is done when you see the white germ (looks like a tail) popping out of the grains.
- Dressing 1: Mix 1 tbsp each of olive oil, maple syrup, Sriracha sauce and lime juice.
- Dressing 2: Blend together the almonds, jalapeños and a tiny bit of lime juice into a fine paste using some water.
- Season both the dressings with a little salt and pepper.
- Once the quinoa has cooled down a little, add the veggies and both the dressings.
- Throw in the pomegranate seeds and pumpkin seeds. Crumble in some feta cheese. Mix everything well together and the salad is ready.
- Garnish with chopped parsley.
- Dig in.
If you make this salad, do let me know in the comments below or post a picture on social media and tag me on it (@ayewanderful). I’d love to hear your thoughts 🙂
Pin it for later!
Cheers,
Ameeta xx
