Recipes
Omid Jaffari’s Red, White & Black Quinoa Super Salad
Protein rich and elegant, a savoury delight!
You lucky people!! It's not often that I do this but, as I'm feeling generous, I'm going to let you in on one of my secret recipes. Taking into account the rich, sweet and chocolatey journey we have recently been on (and for those of you who may have over-indulged a little!) I thought it would be good to start weaving the savoury back in, particulary as we are about to embark on our super healthy smoothie chapter in a month or so.
A great source of natural protein, quinoa is one fo my favourite salad bases to work with. It's perfect fuel for those of you who are in training but also works well as an elegant and simple lunch or dinner. With Autumn approaching, why not chuck in some seasonal fruits as an accompaniment to this salad? With this recipe, anything goes!
For the Quinoa Mixture
- 1⁄2 cup white quinoa
- 1⁄2 cup black quinoa
- 1/2 cup red
- 3 1⁄2 cups water
- 1⁄4 cup Walnuts, soaked & dried – crushed
- 1 cup young Thai coconut meat, thinly sliced
- 4 asparagus, cut in quarters
- 2 tbsp dill, chiffonade
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 1 tbsp sweet almond oil
- 1 tbsp lime juice
For the Quinoa Mixture
- Soak the quinoa for 15 min in the cooking pot. Soaking helps quinoa to cook evenly, and loosens up the outer coating of saponin, which can give a bitter taste if not removed.
- If you don't have time for a longer soaking, use hot water and soak for five minutes.
- Stir the quinoa with your hand, and carefully pour off the rinsing water, using a fine mesh strainer.
- Drain quinoa well in the strainer, transfer to the cooking pot, add 1 1/2 cups water, sweet almond oil and 1 tsp salt.
- Bring to boil, cover with a tight fitting lid, and turn the heat down to simmer. Cook for 15 minutes.
- Remove quinoa from heat and allow to set for five minutes with the lid on. 7. Fluff quinoa gently with a fork and mix in with all other ingredients.
- 1⁄2 tbsp almond oil to glisten
For the Dressing
- 1⁄2 cup orange juice
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp Dark Agave Nectar
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
For the Dressing
On low heat, fry the garlic for 5 minutes, pour in the orange juice and agave nectar and reduce until dark and semi glazy.
Assemble
Divide between four plates and drizzle with the orange glaze.
