~Serves: 2/3 people INGREDIENTS: ~ 100 gr quinoa (50 gr red quinoa, 50 white quinoa) ~ 250 gr cooked peas ~ 1 large zucchini ~ 1 large carrot ~ 1 celery ~ 1/2 onion ~ 4 tbsp olive oil, divided ~ 1/2 lemon, juice ~ 5 tsp soy sauce/ tamari, divided ~ 2 tsp tahini ~ 6 big mint leaves ~ a handful of cashews INSTRUCTIONS: Start by cooking the quinoa. Place it in a sieve and wash under running water until water comes out clean. In a sauce pan toast the quinoa for a couple of minutes and then add 170 ml water. Bring to a boil then add 2 tsp of soysauce and a bit of lemon juice (about 1 tbsp, I simply cut the lemon in half and squeezed a bit directly into the pot). Lower the heat and let simmer covered for 15 minutes until all the water evaporates. While the quinoa is cooking, cut all the vegetable into small pieces (about the size of the peas or just slightly bigger). Put 3 tbsp of olive oil in a pan and add the onion, celery and carrots and cook for 5 minutes until golden. You might want to add some water to make sure that they don't stick to the pan. Add the zucchini and a bit of water and cook until the zucchini is cooked but still crunchy. Remove from the heat and add the drained peas and the cooked quinoa and mix well. For the dressing, mix the remaining olive oil, tahini and juice that remains from the half lemon in a small bowl and add the chopped mint. Add the sauce to the quinoa and some chopped cashews and serve! It has a nice fresh flavour due to the mint and lemon and because of this I think it tastes even better when cold! |