This is one of our favourite salads that is perfect all year round as you can roast whatever veggies are in season. It’s full of flavour thanks to the sun-dried tomato pesto – it’s sweet, tangy and packed with crunchy almonds.
This Week
9 Dec - 15 Dec
Cauliflower, Carrot and Quinoa Salad with a Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
- Under 1 hour
- 4
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Meal Prep Guide
Cook ½ cup of red quinoa as per packet instructions. Allow to cool and store in the fridge in an airtight container.
Chop the vegetables. Store separately in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Cut 1 head of cauliflower into florets.
- Slice 3 large carrots into rounds.
Make the Sun-dried Tomato, Almond Pesto. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes*
- 4 dried dates
- ¼ cup dry roasted almonds
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 Tbsp water
- 1 garlic clove
Method:
Simply combine all ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until combined but not completely smooth. You might need to adjust the amount of oil depending on the sun-dried tomatoes you use.
Tips
Tips
- We prefer using sun-dried tomatoes that are sold dried versus the ones in oil but if you choose to use the oil-packed ones, just make sure to drain them really well before adding to the blender and you may need to use a little less olive oil.
- Make sure to roast the cauliflower until golden in colour – the colour is what makes roasted vegetables taste so good! Don’t be afraid to give your cauliflower a generous drizzle of olive oil. The addition of oil will help get the cauliflower gloriously crispy and help you to absorb fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin A, D, E and K.
- It keeps well, so is great for lunches or to take to a picnic.
Shortcuts
Vegetables
- One of the best things about this salad is that you can use almost any roasted vegetables you’d like. Broccoli, pumpkin, sweet potato are all delicious you’ll just need to adjust the cooking time.
Protein
- You can serve this salad alongside some extra protein if you’d like. Some ideas include our Baked Falafels, Blackened Salmon, or Honey Mustard Chicken Skewers
Other
- You can swap out the almonds for pine nuts.
- You can swap out the feta for some pan-fried halloumi.
- You can use white quinoa or any other ancient grain.
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 head of cauliflower (cut into florets)
- 1 brown onion (cut into wedges)
- 3 large carrots (cut into rounds)
- 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- ½ cup red quinoa
- ¼ cup fresh coriander (finely chopped)
- 100g goats cheese (crumbled)
Sundried Tomato, Almond Pesto
- ¼ cup sundried tomatoes*
- 4 dried dates
- ¼ cup dry roasted almonds
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 Tbsp water
- 1 garlic clove
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees fan bake. Add the cauliflower to one baking tray and the onions and carrots to another. Drizzle over the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Pop in the oven to roast for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and the cauliflower is starting to get nice and charred.
- Whilst the veggies are roasting, cook the quinoa as per the packet instructions.
- To make the sun dried tomato pesto, simply combine all ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until combined but not completely smooth. You might need to adjust the amount of oil depending on the sun dried tomatoes you use.
- Once the quinoa has cooked add it to a mixing bowl with half of the sun dried tomato pesto and mix well.
- Once the veggies have cooked you can assemble the salad. Add half the quinoa to a large platter and then add some of the roasted vegetables, half the coriander and goats cheese; add another layer of quinoa, and roasted vegetables. Dollop over the rest of the pesto, and top with the remaining goats cheese and coriander.
Variations
Vegetables
- One of the best things about this salad is that you can use almost any roasted vegetables you’d like. Broccoli, pumpkin, sweet potato are all delicious you’ll just need to adjust the cooking time.
Protein
- You can serve this salad alongside some extra protein if you’d like. Some ideas include our Baked Falafels, Blackened Salmon, or Honey Mustard Chicken Skewers
Other
- You can swap out the almonds for pine nuts.
- You can swap out the feta for some pan-fried halloumi.
- You can use white quinoa or any other ancient grain.
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