Chewy quinoa and crunchy veggies with curry spices – this salad is great to prepare ahead to take to work. At parties, it is always the first one to be gone. Good it’s so easy to double the ingredients!
Quinoa has been used for 3000 years.
Incas consumed it to increase their stamina. Quinoa is rich with protein (it is a complete protein meaning it contains all 9 essential amino acids) and fibre (hello healthy bowels, stable glucose and cholesterol levels!).
It contains iron (healthy red blood cells), lysine (for tissue repair and eyes), the anti-oxidant manganese, riboflavin (B2, energy metabolism) and magnesium (muscle relaxant, helps with migraines).
RECIPE FOR DELICIOUS GREEN QUINOA SALAD
Ingredients for 4 to 6 hungry friends:
150g quinoa, sprouted*
1 cucumber
1 green capsicum (pepper)
150g celery with green (3-4 stalks)
1/2 C sweet peas
30 ml Nama Shoyu or soy sauce
3 dates, soaked for 10 minutes if they are very hard
juice of 1 lemon
1 clove of garlic, peeled
1/2 – 1 chili
1 tsp curry powder, mild
4 sprigs of fresh cilantro (coriander)
1/3 – 1/2 cup cold pressed olive oil
sea salt
5 TBSP peanuts or pecans, chopped
1 Avocado
Preparation:
Wash and dry vegetables.
Roughly dice cucumber, capsicum and celery.
Chop the celery leaves.
Place all veggies in a bowl.
Blend Nama Shoyu or soy sauce with dates, lemon juice and curry powder.
Thinly slice garlic and chili, stir into sauce.
Chop cilantro and stir in with the oil.
Add sea salt to taste.
Pour over vegetables.
Let them marinate for a minute, a few hours, or not at all. The longer you marinate the veggies, the more they will soften up. You can also marinate them in the dehydrator to give them a more “cooked” like texture, and also warms it up (obviously).
Mix quinoa with veggies, marinade and nuts.
Peel and dice avocado, put on top of your salad.
Enjoy!
Tip: To prepare the day before, store quinoa, vegetables and marinade refrigerated and in separate containers.
*Sprout quinoa:
Soak overnight, rinse, drain.
Place in sprouting container or mason jar; cover the jar with a net or gladwrap with small holes pinched into it.
Let it sit upside down at an angle so excess water can drain off and air can get into the jar.
Place in a cool, shady spot.
Direct sunlight, heaters, sitting on top of your shelves (warm air rises up) is often too hot for seeds to sprout. Fridge temperatures are too cold for them to develop.
Rinse seeds twice a day so they do not dry out and stay nice and fresh.
After 24 hours, your seeds should have grown little tails.
After another 6-12 hours, or a maximum of 24 hours, they should be fully sprouted – leaving them too long will give them a sharp, lemony taste; not good.
Tip: Once your sprouts are ready, and you want to keep them for a few days, placing them in the fridge is perfect.
The coldness will slow their growth down immensely.
Notes:
C = cup, 240 ml
1/2 C = half a cup, 120 ml or / TBSP
1/4 C = quarter of a cup, 60 ml or 4 TBSP
TBSP = table spoon, 15 ml or 3 tsp
tsp = tea spoon, 5 ml
“soft dates” = medjool are usually best. If necessary, soak briefly and drain. The soaking water is super sweet by the way!