Roasted carrot & quinoa salad with wilted spinach & dukkah

Ingredients

Serves 6-8

• 180g quinoa, cooked as per the packet instructions - usually rinse well until the water runs clear and then simmer for 20 minutes

• 5 carrots or approx 300g, chopped in thick batons

• 2 red onions, sliced in half moons

• 6 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice

• 2 1/2 tbsp dukkah spice mix (recipe linked here)

• 2 handfuls of spinach

• Handful of parsley or coriander to serve, optional

• 200g crumbled feta, optional

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180°c.

• Cook the quinoa and add 1 tbsp of dukkah spice mix to the water, then drain and put back in the pan with the lid on to keep warm.

• Put the carrots and onions on a large tray, or split between two so you have space between all the veggies to allow them to roast and brown rather than steam. Drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle over 1 tbsp of dukkah, then mix to coat well. Place in the oven.

• After 15 minutes check the veggies and turn to brown on the other side. Cook for a further 8-10 minutes.

• Meanwhile get a large serving dish and spread out the spinach.

• Mix the remaining 4 tbsp olive oil and lemon juice (or vinegar) into the drained quinoa and then spoon about 1/3 on to the serving dish covering the spinach. Add a scattering of carrots and onions, then repeat until you’ve used everything up.

• You can sprinkle in the herbs while you’re layering or just add a handful on top to finish with the last 1/2 tbsp of dukkah.

• I also love to top this salad with feta as it’s creamy saltiness goes so well and makes it a complete lunch. If you’re vegan you could add some toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds for extra protein instead.

Roasted cauliflower, red pepper & dukkah yoghurt

This is a quick and easy salad to make any day of the week, especially if you prepare the dukkah spice mix a day ahead. I used this Ottolenghi recipe, which makes enough to fill a small jar, so you have some ready to go next time.

I love this salad just on it’s own for lunch, but if you want to make it more substantial or as part of a main meal then you could add quinoa, rice, toasted seeds or feta or eat with veggie fritters (recipe for those coming soon!

Ingredients

Serves 4 - 6 depending on what else is on the plate!

• 1 cauliflower, chopped into medium florets, including the inner leaves

• 1 red pepper, whole

• 5 tbsp greek yoghurt

• Juice of 1/2 lemon

• Salt

Dukkah 

• 70g hazelnuts, with their skins

• 2 tbsp sunflower seeds

• 1 tsp fennel seeds

• 1 tbsp cumin seeds

• 1 tbsp dry green peppercorns (or white, as an alternative)

• 3 tbsp coriander seeds

• 1½ tbsp sesame seeds

• ½ tsp nigella seeds  

• ½ tsp sea salt

• 1 tsp paprika

Method

First make your dukkah. These instructions are from the Ottolenghi website where he has made it to go with a delicious sounding butter bean purée:

• Put a frying pan on a medium heat and leave for a couple of minutes to heat up well. Roast the following spices for 30 seconds each and then put to one side in a small bowl: fennel, cumin, peppercorns.

• Next add the coriander seeds for 1 minute, then set aside with the other spices.

• Reduce the heat to low and cook the sesame and nigella seeds together, stirring occasionally, until the sesame turns pale brown, then remove from the pan.

• Rub the hazelnuts between the palms of your hands to discard some of the skin if necessary. Use a pestle and mortar or bash gently in a teacloth with a rolling pin to chop them coarsely, then transfer to a medium bowl.

• Lightly crush the cumin and fennel seeds, and add to the hazelnuts. Repeat with the coriander seeds, followed by the peppercorns and then the sunflower seeds. Add these to the nut bowl, along with the sesame and nigella seeds, add salt and paprika, and mix well.

• I actually put all the seeds and nuts into a spice grinder and pulsed a couple of times. This probably gave a finer grind than Ottolenghi’s, but laziness is key here. I left the nuts and seeds out so they stayed crunchy. That’s the fiddly bit done.

• Next put the oven on at 180°c and the cauliflower florets on a tray, drizzle over 1-2 tbsp of rapeseed or olive oil and roast for 10 minutes, before turning and browning for a further 5 minutes.

• At the same time, put the whole red pepper on some tin foil under a high grill and blacken each side. Then wrap in tin foil and allow to cool so you can peel off the skin, deseed and chop in lengths.

• Plate the cauliflower and red pepper then drizzle with yoghurt and sprinkle about 1 tbsp of dukkah on top. Serve immediately so it’s still warm, or allow to cool to room temperature. Try not to serve cold and this will mask the sweet flavours of the vegetables.