QUINOA SALAD WITH FRESH SUMMER VEGETABLES

Another summer recipe on a winter’s day.  This quinoa dish seems to last forever. As a salad it filled up my friend and myself for lunch yesterday, as well as 4 of my family members tonight, and there is still ample servings left. If you haven’t tried quinoa before, this is the way to eat it; with lots of fresh, crisp vegetables, avocado and a nice dressing. Lentils were a pleasant last minute addition to the salad and made the dish more filling. You don’t have to sprinkle pine nuts on top of the salad, instead you could go without or use almonds, walnuts or orange slices to make it very summery.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup white quinoa 
• 1 1/2 cups water 
• sea salt 
• 2 heaped cups of red cabbage, shredded quite finely
• 2 heaped cups lettuce, shredded quite finely
• 1 large tomato, finely sliced 
• 1 x 400g tin of brown lentils, rinsed 
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts 
• 1 ripe avocado, roughly sliced into pieces

Salad Dressing

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or minced 
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon water, plus extra 
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 heaped tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
• sea salt 

COOKING 

1. Pour quinoa and water into a small saucepan with a pinch of sea salt. Bring to the boil, covered, then simmer for 8 minutes. Leave the saucepan for 5 minutes, then remove the lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Set aside to cool for a few minutes. 

2. Meanwhile, place the cabbage, lettuce, tomato, brown lentils, pine nuts and avocado in a large serving bowl. Make the salad dressing by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl and whisking to combine. If the salad dressing is too thick, try adding a little extra water. 

3. Scoop quinoa on top of the vegetables and then drizzle the dressing over the top. Toss well to combine. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 17 minutes 

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