Vegetable Quinoa Salad
Vegetable Quinoa Salad
This plant-based quinoa salad is an ideal, time-saving way to enjoy the vibrant variety and natural sweetness of roasted veggies.
Servings
4
Prep time
Cook time
Recipe
Vegan, Dairy-Free
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant, diced 2-3cm
- 2 beetroot, peeled & diced into 1-2cm pieces
- 2 red onions, halved & cut into wedges
- 2 zucchinis, halved lengthways & sliced 1cm
- 2 red capsicums, diced 2cm
- 2 sweet potatoes, diced 2cm
- Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Extra-virgin olive oil, to drizzle
- 1⁄2 cup quinoa
- 1 cup water
- 100g rocket leaves
- 60g walnuts, toasted
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 spring onion
- 125mL extra-virgin olive oil
- 1⁄2 bunch basil, leaves picked
- Juice 1 lemon
- Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C (fan-forced).
- Place the vegetables in a single layer over 2 large oven trays.
- Drizzle with olive oil, season well and toss. Roast for 30 mins or until the vegetables are cooked through. Cool and reserve half for the Roast Vegetable Pizza recipe — store in the fridge until ready to make.
- Rinse the quinoa in a fine sieve very well for at least 1 min (this removes the bitter saponins from the quinoa). If you have time to soak the quinoa in water with a splash of apple-cider vinegar (for up to 12 hrs), this will improve its digestibility and reduce any bitterness.
- Cook the quinoa by placing it into a pot with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat a bit to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, uncovered, until the quinoa has absorbed all the water, approx. 10-12 mins.
- Remove from heat, cover and let the quinoa steam for 5 mins. This step gives the quinoa time to pop open and the little white spiral to appear.
- After 5 mins, remove the lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Allow to cool.
- Once cooked, allow to cool fully and mix with the rocket and walnuts.
- Make the basil dressing by placing the garlic and spring onion into a high-speed blender or food processor. Blend to chop. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Add half the cooled roast vegetables to the salad and toss well with the basil dressing.
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