Here’s a lovely recipe for a quinoa salad I got from Scrumptious a random food blog I stumbled across while wondering what to do with the jar of quinoa that’s been sitting in the cupboard for well over a year. I’ve been a bit scared of these small grains ever since I saw them, not sure what to do with them, how to cook them, what they would taste like blah blah blah, but it turns out they’re pretty easy going little chaps and they assisted in making this very tasty, hearty but fresh tasting salad. Apparently it’s very good for you too. A ‘Super Grain’ no less. Wooo. I wonder if that’s a bit like Super Gran. There’s only one letter in it, must be. Maybe super grains turn you into Super Grans?!

Now, I said I got the recipe from a blog, but what actually happened was I’d seen it and decided I was going to make it after I’d been to the shops, then got part way through and realised I was missing several of the key ingredients, so I would say this was influenced by rather than a direct cover of the original. I’d also intended to make it with goat’s cheese rather than feta, but was quite surprised to find that the (non-organic) goats cheese was almost twice the price of the organic feta and promptly changed my mind.

Another note on the missing ingredients, the original was fairly heavily based on parsley and mint which  I tried to get from the supermarket at the end of the road. I’d already walked the half hour there and back to the other shops and it had started pouring down so I reluctantly decided to see if I could pick the herbs  when I went to get the feta.  The only fresh herb they sold was basil. In my opinion another pointer that they don’t really care about food or their customers. Grrr. Shouldn’t really be shopping there in the first place, but it’s the only place within walking distance I’ve found where you can buy organic milk, cheese, eggs etc. What to do, what to do?

Anyway, enough whittering on, it all worked out fine in the end. Maybe one day I’ll make the other too and do like a taste challenge. Here’s the recipe, thanks to Juno for the inspiration…

Quinoa, Beetroot and Feta Salad

For the salad:

• 2 beetroots peeled and cut into smallish wedges
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 8 cherry tomatoes, quatered
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced
• 5 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander
• S+P
• 100g feta cheese in small cubes

For the dressing:

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• Juice of one lemon
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• 2 chunky cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp tahini
• 1 tsp English mustard

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Put the the beetroot in a roasting tin, add a drizzle of oive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and toss well to coat. Place in the oven and bake for about an hour or until tender right through.
2. Put the dried quinoa into a sieve and rinse well under cold running water. Now put the quinoa, water and salt into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the quinoa is fluffy and tender. Drain off any remaining water (there shouldn’t really be much/any) and leave to cool a little.
3. In the serving bowl put the tomatoes, spring onion and coriander.
4. Whisk together the dressing ingredients.
5. Now tip the warm quinoa into the salad bowl, pour over all but 2 tablespoons of the dressing and toss well to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Top with the beetroot slices and feta.
6. Shake the remaining dressing over the top of the salad.
7. Allow to stand for 30 minutes to allow the flavours to develop.
8. Serve at room temperature with hot pita bread.