Quinoa Salad with Roasted Carrots and Cranberries
Spiced roasted carrots are seriously addictive. Add nutritious quinoa, dried cranberries and toasted walnuts, toss with a handful of green leaves, and you have a salad that works just as well for a snack as it does for lunch or dinner.
Prep: 25 min
Cook: 25 min
Servings: 1
Method
01.
Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Mix all the spices in a small bowl. Cut the carrots lengthways into slices (on a mandoline) and slice the onion, then put both in a bowl. Pour in 2 tbsp olive oil, add 1 tbsp of the spice mix and stir everything together. Tip onto a baking tray and roast in the oven for about 20–25 minutes. Stir once or twice.
02.
Spread the walnuts on a baking tray (or even just in a cake tin) and put them in the oven with the vegetables; roast for about 7 minutes, just until they turn golden and release their aroma. Leave to cool, then chop roughly.
03.
In a small saucepan, mix the quinoa with 2 tsp of the spice mix, pour in 2 cups of water and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is soft, about 15–18 minutes. Uncover, fluff up with a fork and leave to cool.
04.
In a bowl, mix 2 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp lemon juice, season with salt and pepper. Add the lamb's lettuce and rocket and toss. Put the salad on a plate. In the same bowl, mix the remaining oil (3 tbsp) with 1 tbsp lemon juice, grate in the zest of half a lemon, and add the mustard and 1 tsp of the spice mix. Stir, then add the quinoa, walnuts, cranberries, parsley and roasted vegetables. Pile onto the salad and serve.
05.
If you are taking the salad to work, leave the lamb's lettuce and rocket without dressing and add the dressing to the quinoa instead. Mix everything just before serving, so the salad doesn't wilt before lunch.
