Quinoa, rocket and green apple salad

During these challenging times of COVID -19, we need to focus on nourishing our bodies with healthy fresh food that has vitality and life force and can boost our immunity.

To boost my immunity, I start my day by drinking hot water infused with a couple of lemon slices, lemongrass, and ginger. I also add a few pieces of turmeric roots (or ground turmeric), a small cinnamon stick, a few coriander seeds and a teaspoon of honey. I make a teapot of this delicious herbal tea every morning and keep refilling the teapot with hot water throughout the day.

We also need to be creative with our meals in the current isolation state. If you do not have some ingredients, think of alternative ingredients that have similar characteristics and can be used instead. For this month’s recipe, I chose the quinoa and rocket salad I made for dinner a few days ago, using whatever ingredients I had in the fridge and cupboard.

Ingredients

• 3 cups of tricolour quinoa.
• Rocket leaves, about 500 grams.
• 3 medium carrots.
• Two small green apples – granny smith, cut into quarters and slice thinly, or just cut into cubes. I keep the skin on, but you can peel them if you prefer that.
• Spring onions – sliced.
• Pickled Jalapenos – sliced and chopped finely.
• Dried barberries or cranberries, or fresh pomegranate seeds.
• Pine nuts or almond slivers.
• Olive oil, lemon juice, salt. You can add some mint if you like for extra freshness.

Method

• Fry some olive oil in a saucepan, add the quinoa and stir for a bit, then add boiled water to about 2.5-3cm above the quinoa level and cook on high heat. Flavour with salt or vegetable salt. Check the quinoa frequently. Taste it after it had absorbed all water to see if cooked. Do not overcook it.
• For a perfectly cooked quinoa, cook uncovered until the quinoa has absorbed all the water. Once the water is all absorbed, remove the saucepan from heat, cover it and let the quinoa steam for 5 minutes. That is when the quinoa pops open into fluffy quinoa. Open the lid and leave it aside to cool.
• In a salad bowl, mix your ingredients, adding the rocket, sliced spring onions, sliced apples and finely chopped jalapenos.
• Peel the carrots and coarsely grate them and add to the mix.
• Add the dried berries, or the fresh pomegranate seeds, leaving a small amount for decoration.
• Fry the pine nuts or almond slivers on the stove using a small amount of oil.
• Season your salad with olive oil, salt and lemon juice. If you don’t have jalapenos, add some dried chilli, ground or flakes.
• Mix and garnish the salad with nuts and berries and serve.