It’s at this time of year when I start to crave something a little warmer for dinner, but I’m not quite ready to go into full winter comfort food mode, just yet. That’s when lightly cooked salad bowls come into their own. Just enough freshness, but still nourishing and warming too.
This bowl couldn’t get any easier, protein-rich quinoa, lightly cooked carrots, micro or salad greens and a zippy little sesame dressing to bring it altogether. I’ve used NZ-grown wholegrain quinoa, which is readily available from supermarkets and health food stores around the country nowadays. I use this one, which I was surprised and stoked to find out a few years back is owned and operated by distance relatives of mine! Such a funny small world we live in. Aside from being delicious, it’s also a much better choice for those of us in NZ as it’s only travelling from Taihape, not South America to get to us. It has a slightly more pronounced flavour being wholegrain, and rather than cooking it using the absorption method I would usually use for imported quinoa, I prefer to cook it like pasta in lightly salted water until just tender, before draining through a sieve and setting aside for a few minutes to steam dry.
If you have a high powdered blender, use this for the dressing to achieve a silky smooth emulsified dressing. Don’t have one? No worries, you might just have a few sesame seeds remaining… but that’s never a bad thing 🙂
Quinoa Carrot Bowls with Lemon Sesame Dressing
Ingredients
- 8 medium carrots ends trimmed and sliced into 5mm thick batons
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup or raw sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon lightly toasted sesame seeds
- handful coriander leaves + tender stems roughly chopped
- cooked quinoa and microgreens to serve
Lemon sesame dressing
- the juice 1 large lemon
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup or raw sugar
- 1 tablespoon lightly toasted sesame seeds
- 1 small clove garlic
Instructions
- Place sliced carrots, olive oil, maple syrup (or honey/sugar) and salt into a medium saucepan, pour over 200ml water (you’re aiming for the water to come just over halfway up the carrots, this will vary depending on the size of your pan, so add a touch more if needed). Bring to the boil and continue to boil uncovered on high 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. As the water evaporates, keep an eye on the pan so it doesn’t completely dry out. After 8-10 minutes the carrots should be tender and the water evaporated. Pour off excess water if there’s a little too much and return to the heat to cook until the carrots are left cooking in the olive oil. Remove from the heat, stir through the sesame seeds and coriander. Taste and add a pinch more salt if needed.
- To make the dressing combine all the ingredients in a small blender and blend on high until super smooth, thick and creamy. Season with fine sea salt.
- To serve, divide carrots between 4 bowls and serve alongside cooked quinoa and microgreens, drizzling everything with dressing before eating.
