Spring Vegetable Quinoa

Spring Vegetable Quinoa

Quinoa (pronounced “keen-wa”) is a South American “grain” – actually a seed. It’s considered by many to be a super-food, because of the balance of proteins it contains. It’s easy to cook and delicious.

This recipe also uses sunflower or walnut oil in the dressing (high in essential fatty acids), so it’s a super-tasty, super-healthy meal.

Ingredients

Serves 4

150g quinoa
150g sprouting broccoli or broccoli florets
6-8 baby carrots (new season)
150g spinach leaves or baby chard leaves
150g broad beans, podded or edemame

Handful of pine nuts

Dressing:
2 tablespoons sunflower oil / walnut oil
1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
Handful fresh herbs, chopped (e.g. parsley, thyme)

Method

1. Cook the quinoa according to the packet instructions (usually simmering, covered, in twice its volume of water for 10 minutes, then leaving to stand for 5 minutes).
2. Wash the broccoli and drain well. Break into bite-sized chunks.
3. Scrub the carrots, trim the green ends and the chop the carrots into bite-sized pieces.
4. Wash the spinach leaves and drain thoroughly.
5. Boil the carrots in a covered pan with 1 inch of water for 5 minutes. Add the broccoli and broad beans and cook for a further 3 minutes. Drain.
6. Return to the pan with just a couple of tablespoons of water. Add the spinach leaves and cover the pan. Cook gently for 2 minutes until the spinach wilts.
7. Mix together the dressing ingredients.
8. Heat a frying pan (dry) until hot and add the pine nuts. Turn regularly for a couple of minutes until lightly browned. Don’t let them burn.
9. Mix together the vegetables, the dressing and the quinoa. Sprinkle the pine nuts on top of each serving.