Quinoa salad with chargrilled broccoli, almonds and a herb sauce

It's been a month since my last post, selling my house as taken up all my energy so a few things had to be put aside, updating the blog was one of them. Change is on the horizon, not only am I moving to a new home, but I'm moving to another part of the country, I'm excited and looking forward to the change, but more about that later...Broccoli tastes amazing char-grilled, the smokiness, crunchiness and bitterness just work beautifully together. You could also consider adding some goats cheese to this dish, the creaminess of the cheese with the bitterness of the broccoli tastes incredible. Dairy is often avoided on the endo diet because it can be inflammatory (along with other potential issues), however I find the occasional intake of organic cheese doesn't cause me any problems, but go with what works best for you.

You'll need

To make the quinoa:1 cup of vegetable stock1/2 cup of quinoa (I used red), rinsed wellTo make the herb sauce:1/2 cup of quality extra virgin olive oil1 packed cup of coriander2 tablespoons of chopped mint1 teaspoon of dried oregano4 cloves of garlic, mincedJuice of 1 lemon1/2 teaspoon of chilli flakesSea salt to taste1 teaspoon of red wine vinegarRemaining ingredients for the salad:Bunch of long stemmed broccolini chopped into 1 inch pieces1 cucumber chopped and de-seeded1 red capsicum sliced and de-seeded1/4 cup of almonds, choppedHandful of parsley leaves, torn1 red chilli, de-seeded and finely sliced50g organic goats cheese (optional) crumbled on top

Method

To make the quinoa, make sure it's rinsed then add the stock and quinoa to a small saucepan, cover with a lid, bring to the boil then simmer for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork (strain any excess liquid) then replace the lid and allow to stand and cool.Next make the herb sauce, blend the ingredients listed above until a smooth consistency is formed.Roughly chop the almonds, turn the grill on then put the almonds on a baking tray, put them under the grill until lightly toasted, closely watch them so they don't burn.To char-grill the broccolini, heat a griddle or barbecue on high then cook for 2 minutes, turn then cook on the other side for 1-2 minutes. Set aside on a plate and allow to cool a little.To make the salad combine the quinoa, *herb sauce, broccolini and remaining ingredients, if you're using goats cheese crumble on top of the salad and serve. Can be eaten warm or cold from the fridge.*The herb sauce is full of flavour so try stirring half of it through the salad first, taste it, then add more according to your taste preference. I usually use about 3/4 of the sauce and keep the remaining for another small salad, it should last up to a week in the fridge.Yours in health,Meredith x