Quinoa rainbow salad bowl

Serves 4 Preparation Time Cooking Time 15 Minutes

Vegan, Gluten-free, Vegetarian, Dairy-free

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I adore salads, not the plain tomato, cucumber and lettuce variety. Being gluten-free there are lots of grains I cannot use but it still leaves me with a fair amount of scope, using base carbs such as

• Gluten-free pasta
• Wild rice
• Red Rice
• Quinoa
• Buckwheat
• Amaranth

For this recipe, I have chosen quinoa, although technically it is not a grain but a gluten-free seed. With its nutty texture and high protein content it is a wonderful store-cupboard item to keep in stock if you are vegan. Make sure you rinse your quinoa thoroughly, don,t miss this step out as sometimes quinoa can be quite bitter, It is always better to air on the side of caution.

The reason for the name Rainbow salad is quite obvious, as it contains such an array of colours. This recipe is so versatile and adaptable to your taste. Below are a few ingredients you could incorporate.

• Pumpkin seeds
• chia seeds
• Linseeds
• Hemp seeds
• Pine nuts
• Almonds
• Cashews
• Pistachios

• Sliced red cabbage
• Blanched green beans
• Chopped herbs
• Radicchio
• Baby spinach
• Radishes
• Grated carrot
• Dried cranberries

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Base Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of quinoa
• 1 cup of water
• 1/4 of cucumber diced
• 8 Cherry tomatoes halved
• 1 Orange pepper diced
• 1 Bunch of spring onions or 1/2 red onion chopped
• 30g of Chopped walnuts
• 12 Ready to eat apricots sliced
• 30g of sunflower seeds
• 1 small tin of sweetcorn
• 1/2 Celery stalk thinly sliced
• 100g of vegan feta cheese
• 30g of pine nuts

Maple and mustard dressing

• 3 tbsp of Dijon mustard
• 3 tbsp of maple syrup
• 3 tbsp of cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp of olive oil
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• ground black pepper

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Instructions

1. Place your quinoa into a fine-mesh sieve and rinse through with cold water for a couple of minutes, then leave to drain.
2. Add the cold water to a pan with the quinoa and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil with the lid on, then reduce the heat and cook for 15 minutes.
3. Once the quinoa is cooked and the water has been absorbed leave the lid on for a further 15 minutes but remove from the heat. After 15 minutes remove the lid and with a fork fluff up the quinoa and leave to cool.
4. While it is cooling cut up the ingredients that need it and add to a bowl along with the rest of the base ingredients and cover.
5. Add the cooled quinoa to the bowl and toss everything together.
6. Place all the dressing ingredients into a lidded jar or container and shake to combine. Pour over the mixture and stir through. The quinoa will soak up all the lovely flavours of the dressing.

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Notes;

1. You do not have to use the dressing or you may have a preferred one. Like I said it is something to make to your taste. The most important thing is that you love it and the fact that is is packed full of healthy goodness.

A few of my latest blogs

• A spoonful of pesto
• Basil pesto mash potato
• Firm Mozzarella style vegan cheese
• Zesty crispy “parmesan” fingers
• Quick Cheeze scones

If you make this, don’t forget to tag me on twitter as @veganalchemist1 or my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thegfveganalchemist I love seeing your versions of the recipes. I would also love to hear from you.