Quinoa Chopped Salad with raw veggies: Meat Free Monday

I love chopped salads, it means you get a good mouthful of everything in the salad and there are endless possibilities of combinations of ingredients. I decided to add cooked quinoa to make the salad a bit more substantial and to make it a complete meal. I took this to work in a Tupperware tub with some sliced tomatoes and it was delicious and filling.

I decided to keep all of the vegetables raw to keep it fresh, summery and full of goodness! Veg like broccoli is great in a salad like this because when chopped up small it adds punches of flavour and a different texture. The head of the broccoli looks so pretty in amongst the quinoa.
I added the broccoli into the bowl with the quinoa while the quinoa was still hot to allow the broccoli to wilt slightly, then once cooled completely you can add the rest of the vegetables.

After the quinoa had cooled down I added raw spinach leaves, basil, spring onions, avocado and pistachio nuts. This is a really high fibre, high vitamin dish which will keep you satisfied untill dinner. You can add other vegetables of your choice, this is a great way to use up any salad items that are left over in the fridge.

This recipe made enough for me to have 6 portions, these are roughly the proportions I used

1 heaped cup Quinoa
8 Broccoli florets – thinly sliced
100 – 150g Spinach (or a large handful) – sliced
8-10 Basil leaves – sliced or torn
4 Spring onions – sliced
1 Avocado – Peeled, stone removed and chopped
small handful Pistachio nuts
1 Lemon
Drizzle Olive oil
Black Pepper

Cook the quinoa according to the packets instructions (I find that covering the quinoa with water and bring to the boil then turn the heat down and cook for 8 minutes works every time).

Drain the quinoa if needed and put into a large bowl with the broccoli. Make sure you scrape all those little broccoli bits in to the bowl too.

Once it is cooled add the other chopped veg and the pistachios and season with black pepper. Drizzle olive oil and add a squeeze of lemon then stir and serve at room temperature with some big juicy tomatoes and a fresh glass of juice!

Perfect to take as a side dish to a bbq or summer party.
I have shared this recipe on “Summer Salad Sundays” and “Wellness Weekend“. Please go see what other delicious recipes have been linked up to these events

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