Roast Carrot Salad with Farro, Feta and Spiced Citrus Vinaigrette

This is another visual beauty, and it tastes even better than it looks. The saltiness of the feta, combines perfectly with the spiced dressing and the faro and carrots ground everything. The mint and parsley add a fantastic freshness to the whole dish.

Farro is a grain available at delis or middle eastern stores. Cook it like pasta, in boiling salted water til al dente, then drain well. You can substitute the farro for quinoa, barley or freekeh.

1 bunch dutch carrots or 3 large carrots cut into sticks

2 cups spinach

1 cup cooked faro

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

½ cup chopped pasley

½ cup shredded mint leaves

½ cup slivered almonds, toasted

½ cup pomegranate seeds

150g feta cheese, sliced or crumbled

dressing

¼ cup lemon juice

¼ cup orange juice

½ tbspn cinnamon

½ tbspn orange zest

½ tbspn lemon zest

2 tspn maple syrup

¼ cup olive oil

good pinch sea salt

good grinding of pepper

Combine ingredients for dressing and set aside. Preheat oven to 200 degrees and roast carrots for 40 mins or until golden and tender. Combine all ingredients except feta. Pour over dressing reserving 2 tbspns. Toss salad. Scatter over feta and drizzle with remaining dressing.

Roast Beet Salad with Labne, Candied Walnuts and Orange

I love this salad. It is beautiful to look at and has many interesting textural elements that combine to make much more than the sum of their parts. The hard part is trying to get a bit of everything on your fork! This salad looks nicer on a flat plate or platter rather than in a bowl because it allows you to see everything. You can roast extra beets and make extra quinoa and keep them in the fridge because you will definitely want to make and eat this again, and soon. I also made this salad replacing the quinoa with farro, which I have included a picture of.

with farro

1 bunch baby beets

1 bunch golden beets (optional)

olive oil spray

sea salt

2 handfuls spinach leaves

1 cup cooked quinoa

½ cup candied walnuts

10 mint leaves, shredded

1 orange, cut into quarters and sliced

labne

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Trim, peel and halve or quarter the beets. Spray with olive oil and season with salt and roast for 30-40 mins or until tender.

To candy the walnuts, toss walnut pieces in a dry fry pan on medium heat until they start to tast. Remove from pan. Add 2 tspns castor sugar to pan, let it melt then return the walnuts and toss through the toffee. Place on a plate and leave to cool.

Combine spinach, quinoa, orange, beets and mint on a plate. Add walnuts and dollops of labne to your liking. Drizzle with good olive oil and balsamic vinegar and finish with a sprinking of sea salt.

Quinoa Roast Chicken

I have recently started making roast chicken with stuffing after I came across a recipe for a cous cous stuffing. I think that quinoa works beautifully here, it is a little lighter than cous cous, but for a faster version use instant couscous or left over cooked rice.

1 chicken

1½ cups cooked quinoa, cooled (I used black quinoa, but any colour works)

¼ cup toasted slivered almonds

¼ chopped pistachio kernels

zest of one orange

12 dried apricots, diced

3 tbspn chopped parsley

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground cumin

 ½ tsp ground coriander

olive oil

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Wash chicken and pat dry. Line a baking dish with baking paper. Mix cooked quinoa with spices, zest, nuts, apricots and parsley.

Stuff the chicken lightly (don’t overstuff) with the quinoa mixture and truss the legs with string or baking paper. Put the remainder of the quinoa in the baking dish and put the chicken on top of it, breast side up. Brush the chicken with olive oil and season well.

Roast at 200 degrees for 20 minutes, then turn the oven down to 180 degrees and roast for a further 60 minutes.

Serve with the quinoa from around and inside the chicken.

Quinoa Salad with Carrot, Orange and Cranberries

This is another brilliant quinoa salad that is great for a crowd. It's festive, it's colourful and most importantly, it is absolutely delicious. The quinoa can be cooked in advance so all that is left to do is add everything else, toss and serve. I used tamari roasted almonds because I had them, but plain roasted almonds or toasted slivered almonds or raw almonds all work equally well.

2 cups of quinoa, cooked and cooled

1 large carrot, grated

seeds of one pomegranate

2/3 cup dried cranberries

2/3 cup tamari roast almonds, chopped

zest of one orange

½ bunch coriander, shredded

½ bunch parsley, shredded

½ bunch mint, shredded

dressing

juice of one orange

¼ cup olive oil

½ tspn cumin

½ tspn cinnamon

pinch salt

1 tspn maple syrup

1 tbspn white wine vinegar

Whisk together dressing ingredients. Combine other ingredients in a large bowl, pour over dressing and mix to combine.

Quinoa Salad Two Ways

I love quinoa salads because you can put anything you like in them, and they are always delicious. Here are two recipes that are similar but different, each borne out of what was in the fridge at the time. Feel free to substitute any of the roast vegetables for what you like (or what you have in your fridge). You can also add any nuts, seeds and/or fresh herbs.

Quinoa with Cauliflower, Pumpkin and Beans

½ head of cauliflower

½ pumpkin (jap or butternut), cut into small (approx 2cm) cubes



1 cup quinoa (I use the tricolour but any colour is fine)

½ cup toasted slivered almonds


½  pomegranate seeds


Handful yellow beans blanched and topped


Handful green beans blanched and topped


1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

¼ bunch parsley, shredded

zest of one lime

dressing


juice of one lime

1 tspn honey


¼ cup olive oil


1 tbspn white wine vinegar

½ tspn salt flakes

Cook quinoa as per pack, but use chicken or vegetable stock for extra flavour. Steam cauliflower for about 5 minutes (til just tender) then cut into small florets.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Spray cauliflower and pumpkin with olive oil and roast in oven for approx 25 min or until browned.

In a large serving bowl combine cooked quinoa, roasted pumpkin and cauliflower, beans, almonds, chickpeas, pomegranate, parsley and zest.

In a small mixing bowl combine lime juice, olive oil, honey, white wine vinegar and salt and whisk together. Pour dressing over salad, mix together thoroughly and serve.

Quinoa and Roast Vegetable Salad

In this instance I have used eggplant, cauliflower, pumpkin and carrots as my roast vegetable, but on other occasions I have also included or substituted fennel, red pepper, butternut pumpkin, zucchini or sweet potato. You could also use steamed broccoli or broccolini in place of or in addition to the beans.

1 cup of quinoa (I use the tricolour one)

1 eggplant, cut in cubes

½ head cauliflower, cut in florets

¼ jap pumpkin, cut in cubes

6 dutch carrots (or 2 carrots)

handful green beans, steamed

½ cup parsley chopped

¼ cup sunflower seeds, toasted

¼ cup pumpkin seeds, toasted

zest of one lemon

1 large handful of baby spinach leaves

dressing

juice of ½ lemon

¼ cup olive oil

1 tspn maple syrup

1 tbspn white wine vinegar

1 tspn balsamic vinegar

½ tspn sugar

Cook quinoa in vegetable stock according to directions. Place in a flat bowl to cool, stirring occasionally. Salt eggplant and stand for 30 mins. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Drizzle eggplant with oil and toss in a baking dish. Combine pumpkin, cauliflower and carrots in baking dish (or dishes – don’t crowd because otherwise they will steam instead of bake), drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast at 200 degrees for 25 mins, shake pan and roast for another 10 mins or until golden.

Combine, quinoa, roast veg, beans, parsley, spinach,  seeds and zest. Pour over dressing and stir to combine.