Recipe from Jules Clancy of Stonesoup
Most weeks I either cook up a big pot of lovely lentils or quinoa to use during the week for breakfasts, lunches or dinners. I’ve also more recently been getting into grating raw veg like broccoli or cauliflower in the food processor and keeping it in the fridge for a quick veg hit to serve with my poached eggs in the morning or in a salad like this.
If you’re not a fan of raw broccoli, see the ‘more wintery’ variations below.
Enough for: 2
Takes: 10 minutes
1 head broccoli
400g (14oz) cooked quinoa
6 tablespoons pesto
squeeze lemon juice
8 tablespoons ricotta
-
Chop broccoli into small bite sized pieces or grate it using a box grater or your food processor.
-
Toss prepared broccoli in a bowl with the quinoa and pesto. Add lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
-
Taste and add more salt / pepper / lemon, if needed.
-
Serve with ricotta on top.
Variations
to cook quinoa – cook 200g (7oz) quinoa from scratch, just boil in a big pot of water like pasta for 10 minutes. Then drain and you’re good to go.
warm salad / more wintery – follow the ‘to cook quinoa’ instructions above and add broccoli to the cooking water after 5 minutes. Drain and toss in the pesto and lemon and serve warm with cold ricotta on top.
carnivore – toss in cooked chicken.
carb lovers / more substantial – increase the quinoa or serve pasta with the pesto.
make your own pesto – whizz one bunch basil leaves with 1 clove garlic, a handful pinenuts and large handful grated parmesan. Add enough extra virgin olive oil to make a chunky paste and season well with s&p.
more veg – toss in cooked peas.
no quinoa? – replace with any cooked grain or legume. Barley or brown rice would be my first choices.
dairy-free / vegan – replace ricotta with hummus or a drizzle of tahini and use a dairy-free pesto like this Sicilian Nut Pesto.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
broccoli – will keep wrapped in a plastic bag in the fridge for about 2 weeks or sometimes a little longer. Can be frozen (if you have time chop before freezing so it will defrost quickly in the pan).
quinoa – dried keep in the pantry. Cooked quinoa can be frozen.
pesto – commercial jars of pesto will keep for months in the pantry. Fresh pesto will keep in the fridge for a few weeks. Cover with olive oil to prevent exposure to air and browning reactions.
lemon – whole lemon will keep wrapped in a plastic bag in the fridge for months.
ricotta – in a sealed tub it usually has a shelf life of a few weeks in the fridge. If in an opened container, will only keep for a few days so use for another meal or freeze.