Quinoa Pesto, Pinenut and Artichoke Salad

12 September 2016

One of my favourite things about Spring is coming up with new light and fresh salads – perfect for warm weather, light and easy to digest, oh and totally winning for meatless Monday dinners. This flavourful and fragrant combination has a delightful Italian flare, and was a serious hit at my family lunch – I’m talking seconds and thirds so be sure to make this in bulk! Perfect for work or school lunches, light dinners, or as an accompaniment to lightly steamed fish. This is a vegetarian dish by choice, but I have also included a no-dairy (vegan) option for those of you following plant based eating plans.

Serves 4-6 | Ready in 30 mins

Ingredients

⅓ cup homemade or store-bought pesto

500g jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained

4 rounds Greek feta cheese, crumbled / or 1 block organic tofu - crumbled

½ cup kalamata olives, sliced

½ cup diced purple onion

½ cup chopped red bell peppers

½ cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

¼ cup toasted pinenuts

Juice of half a lemon

Himalayan salt and pepper to taste

1 cup quinoa, rinsed

1½ cups cold water

½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Step 1:

In a medium sized saucepan, bring water, quinoa and salt to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Once cooked, allow to chill.

Step 2:

Toss gently with pesto to coat, and then add remaining ingredients.

Step 3:

Toss gently.

Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice and sprinkle with pinenuts

Enjoy!

Yours in Health Always,

Cara-Lisa

@caralishious

#caralishiousrecipes

xoxo