Salads that double up as main course are the best kinds of salads. Load it up with vegetables—fresh as well as roasted —lots of herbs and a punchy dressing and Bob’s your uncle, that’s a meal! Use any vegetables you have on hand: root veggies like potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets and carrots hold their shape really well upon roasting. Pumpkin, a favourite roasting ingredient really transforms itself with a little oven time so throw some into the medley to make it more interesting. (It took a lot of self-control to not give you my usual spiel about roasting again. A lot of self-control.)

   Roasted tomatoes add a nice little element of sourness here and ideally you’d want to use the ones that are sun-dried or slow-roasted. I have a recipe for the latter here. I didn’t have any of either kind on hand, so a few chopped ones went into the baking tray along with the other vegetables. They don’t get quite so sharp and concentrated as the slow-roasted ones but the edges catch and char ever so slightly, which is what we’re after flavour-wise.

Dressing uses grain mustard as well as Dijon for a slight variation. Making it couldn’t be simpler: just shake them all up in a screw top jar, pour over the salad just before serving and eat up!

 

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QUINOA WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES + HONEY MUSTARD DRESSING
Servings
3-4
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 1 tomato, deseeded and chopped
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 cucumber, chopped
  • 10-12 olives
  • 1/2 cup mint leaves, some torn
For roasting:
  • 2 tomatoes, cubed
  • 1 onion, julienned
  • 1 red pepper, julienned
  • 200 grams pumpkin, cubed
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
Honey mustard dressing:
  • 2 tbsp grain mustard
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Salt, to taste
Servings
3-4
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 1 tomato, deseeded and chopped
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 cucumber, chopped
  • 10-12 olives
  • 1/2 cup mint leaves, some torn
For roasting:
  • 2 tomatoes, cubed
  • 1 onion, julienned
  • 1 red pepper, julienned
  • 200 grams pumpkin, cubed
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
Honey mustard dressing:
  • 2 tbsp grain mustard
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Salt, to taste
Instructions
  1. Make the dressing: add all the ingredients listed under ‘dressing’ into a screw top jar and shake to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
  2. Preheat oven to 180 C (360 F). Add all the ingredients listed under ‘roasting’ to a baking tray. Toss with olive oil and bake for 30-40 minutes until cooked. Remove and set aside.
  3. Cook the quinoa according to packet instructions in salted water. Set aside to cool slightly.
  4. Toss in the roasted vegetables, fresh tomato, onion, cucumber, olives and mint leaves. Toss to combine.
  5. Mix in half the dressing just before serving. Leave the remaining on the table for people to help themselves if they want more. Serve the salad warm or at room temperature.

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