When Knorr asked if I would work with them in developing a new gluten free recipe for spring and summer, I immediately said YES as I am a big fan of the brand. All the products in the Knorr stock range are all gluten free and many of them are permanent features in my store cupboard at home. Knorr is my go-to gluten free stock cube brand and I love the deep but natural flavours their stocks impart to my home cooking.
Using Knorr vegetable stock cubes, I created a delicious and healthy quinoa salad recipe. Topped with halloumi, dressed with a lemony vinegarette and packed with veggies, this salad is perfect for spring and summer get togethers. I used quinoa as the base and cooked it in Knorr vegetable stock to infuse it with lots of lovely flavour. Quinoa is a naturally gluten free grain (well, actually a seed) and it makes the salad really substantial, as well as giving a big hit of protein to keep you fuller for longer. It’s super healthy too, so you are winning on all fronts with this dish.
To make this quinoa salad ahead of time (if prepping for a party of BBQ for example), follow all the steps but hold off adding the avocado and pea shoots until you are ready to serve. This ensures the salad all stays nice and fresh and will look amazing when served to your hungry guests.
Quinoa & Halloumi Spring Salad with Knorr (Serves 2 as a main course or 4-6 as a side)
Ingredients
- 100g quinoa (I used a tricolour variety but any type of quinoa is fine)
- 400ml Knorr vegetable stock
- A large spring of mint (approx 10 mint leaves)
- 100g asparagus, chopped into small chunks
- 50g peas (frozen or fresh)
- 5 radishes, thinly sliced into rounds
- Zest of one lemon
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 avocado, stone removed, peeled and chopped
- 50g pea shoots (you can also substitute baby leaf salad if you can’t get hold of pea shoots)
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar (you could use white wine vinegar instead if you don’t have cider vinegar)
- 2 tbsp good quality olive oil
- Juice 1/2 lemon
- 1 block halloumi (approx 200g)
Method
- Rinse the quinoa then place in a small saucepan with the Knorr gluten free vegetable stock and then cook the quinoa according to the instructions on the packet. Once cooked, drain in a sieve and set the quinoa aside (still in the sieve) for a few minutes to allow an excess stock to drain off. When fully drained, transfered the quinoa to a large bowl.
- Tear the mint leaves and add to the bowl, along with the sliced radishes, lemon zest and black pepper.
- In a frying pan, cook the asparagus and peas until bright green and ready to eat. Pour them into the bowl with the quinoa and other ingredients.
- Next pour the vinegar, oil and lemon juice over the quinoa mix – given the contents of the bowl a really good stir to combine all the ingredients and ensure the dressing coats all the quinoa.
- Add the pea shoots and chopped avocado to the bowl and give everything one final stir.
- Just before serving, place a small frying pan on the heat and add the halloumi (either sliced or in cubes). Cook for a few minutes until the halloumi has begun to colour on the outside and has become soft. Then tip the halloumi on top of the salad – dinner is served!
Cooking the quinoa in good quality stock like Knorr’s range is key to this recipe. The stock imparts such fantastic flavour to the grain and creates the perfect base to complement the other ingredients. Hence why no salt or herbs are needed for this recipe. For full details about the Knorr gluten free range visit their website
https://www.knorr.com/uk/home.html.
*This is a paid sponsored feature in association with Knorr. I only ever advertise gluten free products that I personally enjoy and am happy to recommend to you all. All opinions on www.mygfguide.com are my own and are 100% genuine.
