You may have already guessed now, I’m a huge lover of nutritious, hearty salads, especially this Quinoa & Roast Vegetable Salad with Feta. It is so good!

I’ve started including quinoa in a lot of my meals now. As well as really enjoying the nutty, chewy taste of these grains, they’re incredibly good for you. It’s a great replacement for rice, couscous or even porridge.

They’re also an excellent source of protein and fibre, gluten-free and has a low glycemic index (GI).

This is one of my go-to, comforting salads that is packed with a variety of healthy vegetables (which taste so much sweeter and flavoursome when roasted). The salty feta and crunchy pine nuts really make this salad extra special.

Quinoa & Roast Vegetable Salad with Feta Recipe

Ingredients

(serves 3-4 people)

2 cups quinoa, rinsed
4 cups water
2 large carrots, sliced in to chunky strips
1 medium squash, trimmed, cut in to 1/2 inch cubes
large handful of long green beans
1 large handful spinach leaves
1 packet (4 ounce) feta cheese, cut in to small cubes
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons olive oil
sprinkle of rosemary, mixed herbs and sea salt

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Heat some olive oil in a saucepan and then add the quinoa. Stir it around for a minute, before adding the water. Bring to the boil, then simmer until the quinoa absorbs all the water, about 20 minutes. Stir in the spinach when quinoa is cooked.

3. Place the squash and carrots on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with rosemary, mixed herbs and salt. Place in the top tray of the oven for about an hour, until the squash is soft and tender to bite through.

4. Put the green beans in a saucepan with water, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until cooked. (Even better would be to steam them). Drain when finished.

5. Heat up a frying pan for several minutes (no oil needed). Place the raw pine nuts in the hot frying pan, stirring constantly for several minutes until all sides are evenly toasted. (You can toast them in the microwave too which is less washing up, but they won’t be as crunchy that way!).

6. Cut up the feta cheese in to small cubes.

7. When the vegetables are roasted and the quinoa has absorbed all the water, transfer both to a large salad bowl. Add in the beans, pine nuts and top with feta.

Et voila! A bowl of delicious goodness!

Beware it’s so moorish you might not be able to stop eating until the bowl is completely licked clean. Or maybe that’s just me.

I actually made a huge batch of this for my recent roadtrip/camping/hiking holiday in Washington. It was our diet for quite a number of days since it lasts a while and we were too lazy to cook anything else!

I must admit though, I wouldn’t recommend carrying it while backpacking, it’s surprisingly heavy – I learned the hard way.

For more vegetarian recipes, check out this delicious roasted cauliflower with turmeric dressing dish, or this healthy bean salad. Enjoy! xx