A power-plant salad

Serves 2 | Cooking time 15–30 minutes | Gluten-free & Vegan

Orange & Cumin Dressing

• juice of ½ orange {~ ¼ cup}
• 1 tbsp cold-pressed olive oil
• 1 tbsp macadamia nut oil {or just use 2 tbsp of olive oil}
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar {unpasteurised & fermented}
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• ½ tsp sea salt, or to taste

Lightly dry roast cumin in a pan on gentle heat until fragrant.

Allow to cool, then grind in a mortar and pestle.

Pour the ground cumin in a glass jar and add the remaining ingredients.

Shake well and set aside for the flavours to develop while you make the salad.

Salad

• 1 cup cooked quinoa*
• ½ cup cooked Puy {French green} lentils*
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 4 cups packed baby spinach leaves
• 1 tbsp cold-pressed olive, macadamia or coconut oil
• flesh of ½ large avocado, sliced
• ½ cup grated carrot
• ½ cup grated fresh beetroot
• 1 tsp dulse flakes {or ½ a nori sheet, shredded}
• a handful of walnuts, chopped
• sea salt & cracked black pepper to taste

*If you haven’t got pre-cooked quinoa and Puy lentils ~ then cook ½ cup of quinoa and 1/3 cups of lentils separately. If you haven’t cooked quinoa before, follow the instructions here. For the lentils, cook them in 2 cups water and drain when ready. This will take around 15 minutes.

Combine the cooked quinoa and lentils in a bowl. Season with some salt and pepper.

Toast the sesame seeds over gentle heat in a fry pan, until lightly golden and set aside.

Sauté the spinach in the oil for 2–3 minutes, until wilted. Season with salt and pepper.

Now put together your salad ~ you can either layer the ingredients, or toss them altogether in a bowl:

• If tossing in a bowl ~ add in ½ the dressing. Adjust the seasoning, and serve the remaining dressing on the side.
• To layer ~ place the quinoa and lentils on the bottom, with the spinach on top. Followed by the avocado, carrot and beetroot. Sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds, walnuts and dulse flakes {or shredded nori} on top. Serve with dressing drizzled on top with extra on the side. Season with salt and pepper.

Variations

• Different grain ~ try brown rice, buckwheat groats or millet
• Different legume ~ any cooked legume that you like will work
• Different green ~ try cooked beet greens or silverbeet, or steamed broccoli
• Dressing ~ you can sub lemon juice for the orange, and skip the cumin and/or garlic if you don’t like these flavours. Feel free to add any spices or herbs that light up your tastebuds!
• Vegetarian ~ feel free to add some goats fetta, pan-fried haloumi or an egg cooked anyway you like

To learn how to make your plant-based meals nutritionally balanced, healthy and delicious, I recommend checking out my ebook with 93 wholefood recipes and healthy eating information.