Red Cabbage, Mint & Smoked Quinoa Salad
Recipe by Clare Mcelhatton.
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This salad can be eaten on its own or works well in a vegetarian kebab with falafel or halloumi- the smoky flavour mimics the charcoal grill of a good kebab!
Serves 2
¼ red cabbage
2 handfuls of fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon of Raspberry Vinegar
100g Smoked Quinoa
Salt
Method:
Shred the red cabbage as finely as possible. Use a sharp knife, the slicing side of a cheese grater or a food processor.
Place in a colander over a bowl and add 2 teaspoons of salt. Mix in the salt.
Leave the red cabbage for at least 20 minutes. The salt will soften the cabbage.
Meanwhile, cook the smoked quinoa according to packet instructions. Leave to cool.
In a hurry? The cabbage can be ‘massaged’ instead. Use your hands to rub the salt into the cabbage, it is done when it loses moisture and softens.
After salting or massaging the cabbage, taste it. If it is too salty, rinse the cabbage with cold water and dry in the colander. If the salt level is correct, move on to the next step.
Once the cabbage is soft and drained, add to a bowl.
Finely shred the mint leaves with a good knife and add to the cabbage.
Add the cooked quinoa.
Add a couple of teaspoons of raspberry vinegar and mix all the ingredients together. Taste. Keep adding vinegar until the flavour is too your taste.
The salad should be tart, smoky, slightly salty and fruity.
Swaps
This recipe uses some specialist ingredients- don’t worry, adaptations can be made. Swap the raspberry vinegar for apple cider vinegar and add grated sweet apple or crushed fresh raspberries for fruitiness. Or even a teaspoon of raspberry jam can be mixed in with the vinegar. Pomegranate molasses (watered down a little bit) can also be used instead. The mint leaves can be blended with the vinegar if you don’t fancy using a knife. Regular quinoa can be used instead of smoked quinoa. Try adding smoked paprika if the smoky flavour is desired. Cous cous or rice can also be used.
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