Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

You may have noticed if you've been reading along for a while, that the recipes I share are not usually super healthy! It's not to say that they are bad for you (some are!) but more that I use regular ingredients and generally lots of sugar and carbs! Sometimes I feel a bit afraid of all the so-called "superfoods". Often it's because I don't know what they are, and sometimes it's because they're really expensive so not something I could justify eating on a regular basis (I know, what price can you put on your health?!). I like to think I eat a fairly balanced and varied diet, with a few treats as well. I try not to think about foods being "good" or "bad", rather just eat lots of different thinks and think about things like portion size instead (great article about this topic here). 

I was also gifted a special bottle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil at Christmas. It's a bottle of a very limited run from a private Olive Grove up north. I feel very honoured to have some! It's best suited for salads and dressings so it's perfect in this recipe.

Anyway, with that rather long preamble, the other day I decided I would try cooking with Quinoa. I had a yummy salad over the holidays, which was the first time I've ever eaten it.  I just added a few things together that I thought would go well together, and voila! My Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad was born!

This recipe serves one as a tasty lunch. Obviously adjust the ingredient quantities to make for a whole family or as a side dish. If you have the chance, cook the Quinoa ahead of time so everything can be thrown together. 

Marie's Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

(Serves 1)

Ingredients

¼ cup (uncooked) Quinoa 

A handful of baby spinach leaves; and/or

A handful of Kale or baby Kale

1 Tbsp fine chopped fresh Parsley

1 Tbsp fine chopped  fresh Mint

3-4 Cherry Tomatoes, chopped, or 1 regular Tomato

3 dried dates, chopped

1 Tbsp Slivered Almonds or Cashews

*Optional: 

30g Plain or Flavoured Feta

Dressing

½ lemon

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

Cook Quinoa. Bring double the quantity of water to boil (For ¼ Quinoa, cook in ½ cup water), simmer for approximately 10 mins, they turn heat off and allow remaining liquid to absorb. Allow to cool to room temperature and fluff with fork.

In a bowl, add dressing ingredients together. Add spinach/kale, parsley,mint and tomatoes to dressing and toss to coat. 

Add cooled Quinoa and mix, add chopped dates and almonds and stir to combine all ingredients. 

Eat and enjoy!

Best eaten fresh. You can prepare the Quinoa ahead of time and chop ingredients. As the Spinach and Kale absorb liquid easily, they will wilt if left in the dressing for a long time.