Meatless Monday: Curry quinoa salad

Quinoa is a staple in many salads today. Not only is it very nutritious, but it also takes the flavour of any dressing.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa
2 cups hot water
2 cups lentils (canned)
2 cups chopped kale
½ cup dried cranberries
lemon juice, optional
slivered almonds, for garnish 

CURRY
2 tsp curry powder
4 tbsp warm water
1 garlic clove, grated
1 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste

Method

Combine curry powder, warm water and garlic. Heat olive oil over medium heat and cook the curry for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the mixture turns into a paste and is bubbling. Add the quinoa, season with salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring to ensure it does not burn. Add the hot water and simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit for a few minutes to ensure all the liquid is absorbed. Fluff quinoa with a fork.

In a large bowl, add the cooked quinoa, lentils, kale and cranberries and toss together. Season with more salt if needed. Garnish with almonds and lemon juice, if desired.

Variations: Use roasted sweet potato or chick peas and top with pumpkin seeds. The great thing about this recipe is that quantities don’t really matter – add as much as you want of any ingredients you want.