KALE & QUINOA MIX UP

I want to avoid calling this recipe Kale & Quinoa ‘salad’ as I know a lot of men won’t eat such a dish. Whilst my Chris did poke around this dinner searching for the ‘dead animal’ (he’s so charming) he did assure me that he was very full after his bowl of quinoa, kale chips and a serving of sweet potato chips. Whilst this recipe was a bit more fiddly than most of the others I have blogged about recently, it was well worth it. It is a fresh, filling meal and all the different colours on the plate really excite me. As the saying goes, the brighter the vegetables the more healthy they are for you!  

Ingredients

• 30g cashews, roughly chopped
• 160g (1 regular bunch) kale, torn into even sized leaves & stalk removed
• 2.5g (1/2 teaspoon) olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 cup quinoa (any type) (85g)
• 200g green beans, washed, trimmed & roughly chopped
• 155g red capsicum, deseeded & roughly chopped
• 125g tomatoes, diced 
• 1 lime, juiced

Cooking 

1.  Preheat a fan force oven to 180 degrees celsius. Line a small to medium baking tray with baking paper and scatter the cashew pieces on top. Bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes or until slightly golden & toasted. Remove from oven and set aside. 

2. Whilst the nuts are toasting, line a large baking tray with baking paper. Toss the kale, oil, garlic and a pinch of sea salt in a large bowl until well combined. Place the kale in a single layer on the large tray. Bake in the oven for around 8 minutes or until the kale is crispy but not burnt. Remove from oven and set aside. 

3. Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa twice in a fine sieve under cold running water. Use your hands to remove all the grit. In a small saucepan, bring the quinoa and 1 1/2 cups water to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes or until all the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender. 

4. Place the cooked quinoa in a large serving bowl and add the beans, capsicum, tomatoes, lime juice and a sprinkling of ground black pepper. Toss well to combine and scatter the cashew pieces on top. Serve the kale chips alongside this salad with a serving of sweet potato chips with lime (yesterday's recipe) if desired. 

Serves / 2 

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 20-25 minutes 

Approx. calories / with the serving of sweet potato chips 546 / without sweet potato chips 275 

x Emily