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Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas and Pomegranate

Quinoa tossed with roasted peppers, courgette and beetroot, chickpeas, pomegranate and lots of parsley and mint in a lemon dressing. A vegan lunch that keeps for 2 days, ready in 50 minutes.

Lunch

50

Serves 4

A blue and white patterned platter of quinoa salad with roasted yellow and orange peppers, courgette, beetroot, cherry tomatoes, pomegranate seeds and herbs, with wooden salad servers

Ingredients

  • 160g/5½oz/scant 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
  • 2 red, yellow or orange peppers (bell peppers, about 300g/10½oz once deseeded), in strips
  • 2 courgettes (zucchini, about 400g/14oz), in thick rounds
  • 250g/9oz raw beetroot (beets), peeled and cut into 2cm/¾in chunks
  • 3 tbsp (45ml) extra virgin olive oil: 1 tbsp for roasting, 2 tbsp for the dressing
  • 1 x 400g (14oz) tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 240g/8½oz drained)
  • 100g/3½oz cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 80g/3oz/½ cup pomegranate seeds
  • A large bunch of flat-leaf parsley (about 30g) and a small bunch of mint (about 10g), chopped
  • 30g/1oz/¼ cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
  • Juice of 1 lemon (about 40ml), 1 small clove garlic (about 4g), crushed, a pinch of salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan, 425F). Toss the peppers and courgettes with most of the 1 tablespoon of oil and a pinch of salt and spread over two large baking trays. Toss the beetroot separately with the rest of the oil and put it at one end of a tray, so it does not stain the other vegetables. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes, turning once, until tender and browned at the edges.
  2. Meanwhile, put the quinoa in a pan with 400ml/1⅔ cups of water, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the grains show a little white ring. Take off the heat, leave covered for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork and spread out to cool.
  3. Toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat for 3 minutes, until they start to pop.
  4. Whisk the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil with the lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper.
  5. Toss the quinoa with the roasted vegetables, chickpeas, tomatoes, herbs and dressing. Scatter over the pomegranate and pumpkin seeds.
  6. Keeps in a covered container in the fridge for up to 2 days; add the pomegranate and seeds just before serving. Not suitable for freezing.

Why it works

A bowl gives you about 16g of protein and 13g of fibre for 461 calories, from the quinoa, chickpeas and pumpkin seeds.

Why quinoa. Quinoa is a naturally gluten-free seed with more protein than most grains, and it is one of the few plant foods with all nine essential amino acids in useful amounts, which makes it a complete protein.

Made for meal prep. Unlike leafy salads, this one holds up well in the fridge, so a batch covers lunches for two days. Keep the pomegranate and seeds separate so they stay crisp.

Why it is tagged for blood sugar. The quinoa, chickpeas and beetroot bring 47g of carbohydrate, balanced by 13g of fibre and plenty of protein, so this salad is unlikely to cause a sharp rise in blood sugar.

Rinse quinoa before cooking to remove its natural bitter coating. For another quinoa dish, try the quinoa, edamame and pumpkin salad.