The beautiful vibrant colours of the this salad remind me of summer. Gluten-free, quick and easy to make, the sprouts give the dish an added crunch.
Why sprout?
Sprouting enchanes the availability of nutrients by removing phytic acid and enyzme inhibitors. It also makes legumes and grains more digestable. Kimi of The Nourishing Gourmet has written a beautiful article about the benefits of sprouting.
Quinoa summer bowl
You will need
1 cup quinoa
1 cup sprouted moong beans (Read how to sprout here)
1 red pepper
1 carrot
1/2 courgette
a handful of spring onions/scallions
Chia seeds
Sunflowers seeds, lightly roasted
Instructions
Rinse the quinoa grains and transfer into a saucepan. Cover with 2 cups of cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cover with a lid. Simmer till the quinoa grains start to soften and expand, this takes between 15-20 minutes. Remove the lid, and let the excess water evaporate, then turn off the heat and allow the quinoa to cool. You can add vegetable broth or curry powder to the quinoa while it is cooking to give the dish some extra flavour. (Step-by-step guide on cooking quinoa)
Grate the carrots and the courgettes. You can remove excess water from the courgettes by using a cheesecloth. Roughly chop the scallions and peppers. Transfer the quinoa into a bowl and add in the carrots, courgette, scallions and peppers. Mix in the chia cheeds and sprinkle with a generous serving of sunflower seeds. Serve cold.
Thrifty Vegetarian 