I have been getting creative again in the last few weeks. I was in a supermarket and saw a display of potted salads. They were all made up and ready to serve. Two potted salads that I noticed was a Saffron Rice Salad and a Saffron Cous Cous Salad. So I thought to myself, “What’s good enough for rice and cous cous is good enough for quinoa”.
So I bought some saffron strands at an exorbitant price of £3.57 and created the recipe below. The benefit of doing your own salads is that you know that there are no preservatives or odd ingredients added that you do not want. They do not last as long but you can easily accommodate that by cooking small amounts more often. The taste benefits and the nutritional benefits of doing it yourself are huge.
I’ve called it a potty quinoa salad because it is best kept in an air tight pot in the fridge. It is also an easy meal to take to work with you in the pot. You can eat it as it is or add some cold meat to accompany it. Scrummy!
Potty Saffron Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
100 grams white quinoa grains
Water – Twice the volume of the quinoa
A few strands of saffron
Half a teaspoon of turmeric powder
1 tub mustard cress
6 spring onions chopped finely
1 green sweet pepper chopped finely
6 small radishes chopped finely
I tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to dress.
Method
Add quinoa, saffron strands and turmeric to water.
Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for 12 minutes.
The quinoa will absorb most if not all the water so take care not to boil the pan dry.
Drain excess liquid thoroughly to avoid a stodgy salad.
The quinoa will have become a bright yellow colour during the cooking process.
Cover the quinoa and allow to cool for an hour.
Add all the remaining ingredients and toss together so that they are completely combined.
Serve straight away. Keep any extra in an airtight pot in the fridge.
Will keep for up to 48 hours. Do not freeze.
