quinoa salad

serves 4

200 g (7 oz/1 cup) quinoa

60 g (2¼ oz//½ cup) sunflower seeds

1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce

2 Lebanese (short) cucumbers, diced

80 g (2¾ oz/1 cup) shredded red cabbage

4 spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced

80 g (2¾ oz/1¾ cups) baby spinach leaves

SPICY TAHINI DRESSING

65 g (2½ oz/¼ cup) tahini

freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon white miso paste

2 garlic cloves, crushed

pinch cayenne pepper

To make the spicy tahini dressing, put all of the ingredients into a small bowl with 60 ml (2 fl oz/¼ cup) water. Whisk well until smooth and combined. Set aside until needed.

Put the quinoa and 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) water in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10–15 minutes, or until the quinoa is tender and all of the water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat, transfer to a large bowl and cool.

Meanwhile, dry-fry the sunflower seeds in a frying pan over medium heat for 1 minute, or until aromatic. Add the tamari to the pan, then remove from the heat and stir well to coat the seeds. Add to the quinoa with the cucumber, cabbage, spring onion and spinach and toss gently to combine. Drizzle over the spicy tahini dressing and toss well before serving.

Salads are a staple at my house — I always keep salad supplies in the fridge so I can whip up an easy lunch at short notice.