Quinoa Salad w/ Kale, Cranberries, Goat Cheese & Pistachios
This salad is perfect for feeding the crew! It’s a little bit decadent and super satisfying while still being super healthy. Whip this one out on Christmas day or for any of those holiday feasts in between and you’ll have one happy family.
Serves 6-8 as a side
Ingredients:
¾ cup white quinoa
1 ½ cups vegetable stock
Small bunch kale – stems removed and sliced very thinly
½ cup dried cranberries
¾ cup pistachio nuts* – roughly chopped
100 grams goat feta – crumbled
Handful fresh mint leaves – roughly chopped
Dressing:
60mls good quality olive oil*
Juice of 1 lemon
1 small garlic clove – finely diced
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon wholegrain mustard
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
To serve:
Additional chopped pistachios and mint leaves to garnish
Method:
Place all the dressing ingredients into a jar and shake vigorously to combine.
Wash the quinoa thoroughly. Place in a medium saucepan along with the stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for approximately 15 minutes, with a lid slightly ajar, until tender and the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and leave to sit for 5 minutes with the lid on. Fluff with a fork and leave to cool until just warm (about 30 minutes).
Stir through the kale while quinoa is warm (but not hot).
Wait until the quinoa is completely cool to stir through the dressing (otherwise it will all be absorbed). Taste and season generously. Add the pistachios, cranberries, goat cheese and mint.
Garnish with additional mint leaves, pistachios and a good grind of cracked black pepper. Drizzle with more olive oil if desired.
*Item not available online but is available in your local GoodFor store.
This recipe was contributed by Kelly Gibney – kellygibney.com.