For this recipe I used a mix of quinoas that were at the bottom of bags and wouldn't make it to a single portion on their own—so it's made up of black, red, and "basic" quinoa. We have an abundance of cabbages at the moment, so of course, it had to be cabbaged up a bit. With our own spring salad from the poly-tunnel and my boyfriend's dressing (try to make your man to help you with salad dressing—you might discover his hidden talent) and a stir fry of delicious veggies. The only non-springy veg here is zucchini/courgette which I baked in the oven with a surprising spice—cinnamon. Some eyebrows were raised when they heard it but they smoothed out the moment they tasted it, so trust me, it's really good.
YIELDS
6
PREP TIME
COOK TIME
TOTAL TIME
- 250g quinoa mix
- 1 L veggie stock
- 1 bunch broccoli (or cauliflower) leaves, thumbnail sized pieces
- 1 head large cabbage, diced into thumbnail sized pieces
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tsp za'atar seasoning
- 1 medium zucchini/courgette (per person)
- 1–2 tsp cinnamon
- 1–2 tbsp olive oil
- 500g mushrooms
- 200g kale, chopped into small pieces
- 3–5 large leeks, sliced into rounds
- to taste ground pepper, salt
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried sage
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tbsp oil
- 3 tbsp sesame seeds
- 200 g pumpkin seeds
- 2 tsp smoked paprika powder
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2–3 tbsp tahini
Directions
1. Start by preparing your veggies and preheating the oven to 180°C.
2. Meanwhile cut the zucchinis in half. Oil out a baking tray and lay the cut zucchinis on it, cut half facing upwards. Brush the top with some more oil and sprinkle with ground cinnamon. Depending on your taste, you can add more or less cinnamon. Once the oven is ready they can go in to bake for about 20 mins, or until the zucchinis bake through.
3. Then using a large pot, heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil and add the cabbage and broccoli leaves. Stir occasionally and fry for about 5–8 minutes until they soften. Add quinoa and stir well until the little pieces are all covered with oil. Then add veggie stock and cover the pot. Have just enough stock in the pan to cover everything as the cabbage will release some liquid, too; but if you need more, you can add some extra water to it. Cook until quinoa is tender. You might need to drain some extra water off using a colander or if you leave it to absorb access liquid, it will become sticky, which is how I like it.
4. In a frying pan, heat up 2 tbsp of oil and add mushrooms. Don’t stir them or add salt yet, we want them crunchy. Once one side seems golden, turn them around and let them roast on the other side as well. Then add in leek and season with salt, pepper and herbs.
5. In another pan heat up 1 tbsp of oil and mix in chopped kale. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and let them fry crunchy. Stir it well at times to avoid burning.
6. Once both pans are done, transfer the kale and sesame seed mixture and combine with the mushrooms. Taste and adjust seasoning.
7. Using the same pan, start roast the pumpkin seeds while stirring. If the pan is not greasy enough you can add a little oil to it. Once the seeds start to pop, remove from fire and mix in the paprika powder. Make sure to remove it from fire to avoid burning of the paprika because it makes it taste bitter. Then place back to fire and roast stirring for a couple of minutes.
8. For the salad dressing, mix together dijon mustard, tahini, lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and freshly cracked pepper.
9. I used random salads we grow in the garden but it goes well with any kind of salad mix.
Serve and enjoy while hot.
Also by Imola: Vegan Caraway Seed Soup
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Photo: Imola Toth
