Quinoa with parsley pesto, cranberries, toasted hazelnuts and mushrooms

Quinoa is not actually a grain, but a member of the beet and spinach family. It is, however, cooked in a very similar way to most other wholegrains. Here it is simmered to tenderness in a mushroom stock. When cooked, each grain will unfurl like a stretched coil.

SERVES 4

PREPARATION TIME: 25 MINUTES

COOKING TIME: 30 MINUTES

15g (½oz) dried porcini or other mushrooms

30g (1oz) butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

250g (9oz) mixed fresh mushrooms, sliced if large

2 French shallots, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

175g (6oz) quinoa

100g (3½oz) dried cranberries

1 quantity parsley pesto made with hazelnuts instead of almonds

a squeeze of lemon

75g (2½oz) hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

Place the dried mushrooms in a heatproof measuring cup. Add enough just-boiled water to reach the 350ml (12floz) mark. Set aside.

Melt half the butter with the olive oil in a deep frying pan. Keep the heat high and fry the fresh mushrooms briskly for a couple of minutes, stirring until they are golden. Tip into a bowl and set aside. Return the pan to a slightly more gentle heat. Add the remaining butter and the shallots to the pan and cook for a few minutes until the shallots are softened. Add the garlic and quinoa and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes until the quinoa takes on a pale golden colour.

Strain the soaked mushrooms through a sieve, reserving the water, and roughly chop, then add them to the quinoa. Pour in the strained mushroom water and bring to the boil. Throw in a good pinch of salt, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 18–20 minutes until the quinoa is tender and the liquid is absorbed. Fold in the cranberries and reserved browned mushrooms and set aside.

Stir a couple of tablespoons of the parsley pesto through the salad, plus a squeeze of lemon juice. Spoon a little more pesto over the salad and sprinkle with the hazelnuts. Best served warm.