quinoa with beetroot, sweet potato, orange and chickpeas

serves 6-8

For the quinoa…
2 cups quinoa
4 cups water
2 beets, trimmed and quartered
1/2 large sweet potato, chopped into 1cm cubes
400g drained rinsed chick peas
2 handfuls of rocket leaves
1 orange, peeled, trimmed, cut into bite sized pieces

For the vinaigrette dressing…
1 shallot finely chopped
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 pinch salt (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (180C).

In a roasting pan, combine the quartered beets and sweet potato with drizzled oil and a little salt. Roast for around 40-60 minutes. The sweet potatoes will probably be ready before the beets so just remove the sweet potato when it looks done, and put aside to cool. Check the beets with a fork and when done set aside to cool, chop into bite size pieces. Wash your hands immediately or they will remain a blushing shade of pink for some time.

While the roasting is taking place, make the quinoa — you’ll need to rinse it thoroughly! The seed has a bitter outer coating which you don’t want in your salad, so you’ll need to rinse it about 3-4 times. Best to use a sieve and a running tap to sort this out. Once the quinoa is rinsed you can place it in a pot and add your water, and get it on the stove. Bring to the boil then simmer, covered, for 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed and the germ turns opaque and splits from the seed – it resembles little curls. Break up the quinoa with a fork and toss with a little olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool slightly.

To make the vinaigrette, steep the shallots in the sherry vinegar for at least 10 minutes, as this will take the edge off the shallots and balance out their sweet flavour. Combine the olive oil and Dijon mustard and add a pinch of salt and mix. Add in onion mixture and combine well. Set aside. It’s worth noting here that the oil and mustard won’t fully combine, they will remain separated and gluggy, but once the vinegar mixture goes in, it breaks down nicely. Taste to ensure a good balance of flavour. You may desire to add a little more oil or mustard depending on your taste.

Combine the cooked quinoa in a mixing bowl with the chick peas, orange, sweet potato and rocket leaves. Pour in the vinaigrette dressing and toss lightly. Lastly add the beets – placing them rather than mixing them in, this makes the staining more subtle. But if you want a pink salad mix it up all you like and the beets will stain everything.