After a few days of eating junk, I decided I needed to eat something super nutritious and zingy. I got some organic Bolivian quinoa and a bunch of vegetables and came up with this gem of a salad, that tastes even better the next day. Quinoa is an very versatile ingredient that lends itself brilliantly to salads like this. The colourful combo of fresh tomatoes with the sweetness of the caramelized roasted veg is sublime!

This salad can be served on its own as a healthy and filling lunch, or as an accompaniment to almost anything. Perfect for summer barbecues.

  • Yields: 4-6 servings
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Total: 90 mins 
  • Active: 20 mins

Ingredients (17)

  • 2 cups of quinoa, cooked to package instructions and cooled
  • Handful of french beans, very briefly boiled in salted water and cooled.
  • 4 medium tomatoes – (2 roughly chopped and 2 quartered)
  • 1 courgette (zuchinni), chopped into smallish pieces
  • 1 aubergine (eggplant), chopped into small pieces
  • 1 clove garlic, whole with skin on (optional)
  • 1 red pepper – chopped into smallish pieces
  • 1 green pepper – chopped into smallish pieces
  • pinch of dried herbs (oregano or herbs de Provence)
  • a few glugs of regular olive oil
  • small bunch of spring onions (scallions)
  • 1 handful of flatleaf parsley
  • 5 tbs of good olive oil for dressing
  • 1 teaspoon of mustard powder (or dijon mustard)
  • 1/2 tbs balsamic vinegar (or to taste)
  • 1 tbs cider vinegar (or to taste)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Place the chopped courgette, aubergine, red and green peppers and 2 of the tomatoes and the garlic clove (if desired) onto a large oven tray.
  2. Douse the vegetables with a few good glugs of olive oil and sprinkle on some salt and the dried herbs. Mix well until the vegetables are well coated in oil. Spread them around so there is plenty of space between the pieces.
  3. Bake in a oven at 180 C (350 F) for about 40 minutes or until the vegetables are just getting golden and the red peppers taste sweet. Keep checking to ensure they do not burn. Once the vegetables are done, discard the garlic clove (if used) and leave out to cool completely.
  4. In a large bowl, make a vinagerette using the olive oil, vinegars, salt, pepper and mustard.
  5. Add the cooled french beans, the remaining chopped fresh tomatoes, cooled quinoa, and cooled roasted vegetables into the bowl, and mix well.
  6. Add the chopped flat leaf parsley and spring onion and mix again.
  7. Serve and enjoy!