Asparagus and quinoa salad with toasted maple seeds and strawberries
Easy
Prep 15 min Cook 20 min
Enjoy the fresh crunch of this salad using crisp asparagus, juicy red strawberries and nourishing quinoa, a perfect easy recipe to accompany any meal, any time of the day.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon of maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 150g (1 cup) red or white quinoa
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoons lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
- 1 small white onion, thinly sliced
- 2 bunches of asparagus
- Handful of fresh mint, leaves picked and chopped
- 1 punnet of strawberries, hulled and sliced
- 100g baby rocket
Recipe Steps
- Preheat the oven to 180c.1. Toss the seeds with the maple syrup and place them onto baking paper on a tray. Bake them in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden and caramelised, then set them aside to cool.
2. Meanwhile to cook the quinoa. Rinse the quinoa in a small amount of water then drain, add in two cups of fresh water and bring to the boil over a moderate temperature. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and cover cooking the quinoa for 15 – 20 minutes until the water has absorbed. Turn off the heat and leave covered to dry out a little.
3. In another bowl combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and add in the thinly sliced white onion. Trim the asparagus by breaking off the stalky ends and, using a peeler, thinly peel the asparagus from the tip to the stalk. Do this for all of the asparagus and then toss these into the dressing with the onion. Just before you are ready to serve, take a small spoonful of the dressing from the asparagus and stir it through quinoa with the picked, roughly chopped mint. Spoon this onto a platter. Add the sliced strawberries and the rocket to the peeled asparagus and onion, pile this on top of the quinoa and then scatter with the maple roasted seeds and serve.