This is a ripper of a recipe that you can make and keep a couple of days to have handy for lunches… to be honest it tastes better as the days progress.
It combines a variety of vegetables to help you punch through your plant and fibre points, and integrates fluffy, delicious and protein charged quinoa grain to help bulk it out and grab the flavours of the veg, herbs and dressing. Add a quality source of protein such as poached chicken (as seen here), fish, or prawns seals the deal for a protein rich salad. Seriously ain’t no fluffy, empty, Imma-still-hungry style of salad! It’s robust!
SPRING RAINBOW QUINOA CHICKEN SALAD
Serves 6 as a side or 2-3 as a main
Gluten free : Dairy Free (opt)
2 cups cooked quinoa (¾ cup raw)
1 ½ cup cooked/tinned white beans / lentils / butter beans
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, diced small
1 orange or red capsicum, seeded + diced
2 cups cooked corn (fresh or frozen)
2 cups green beans (fresh/frozen, blanched, cut 2cm pieces)
¼ cup red onion, finely diced
½ cup fresh basil, finely sliced
½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
70g goat or feta cheese, crumbled (omit for dairy free)
2 free range chicken breasts, cooked and sliced 1cm thick*
Vinaigrette:
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2tbsp lemon juice
1 small clove garlic
3tbsp extra virgin olive oil (more if required to balance citrus)
Whisk together ingredients for the dressing and set aside. In a large salad or mixing bowl, toss the salad ingredients (and the chicken if you wish). Drizzle with the dressing and toss again. Season with sea salt and black pepper and serve.
*I poached 2 large chicken breasts for this recipe.
