Baked quinoa nicoise

Baked quinoa nicoise

Serves two

Oh alright, the title is a bit of a misnomer - I set out to try and veganise salad nicoise, and this is what I came up with it. Like salad nicoise, this has got olives in it, after a fashion, and tomatoes, and a few leaves. And that's pretty much where the similarity.

Still, if you can overlook the naming thing - should I just have called it Moon Rocket Conflagration and have done? - it's not half bad for a salad, and it'll do you hot or cold.

I made this recipe a while back and forgot to post it, so the asparagus is all out of season now, but stick in a few green beans instead and bob's your uncle.

Ingredients

Half a bunch of asparagus

Half a packet of Taifun olive or basil tofu

100g or so of cherry tomatoes

A handful of pumpkin seeds

A handful of pine nuts

One packet of Merchant Gourmet red and white quinoa

Dressing*

How you do it

Cut the basil tofu into 1cm cubes and each asparagus spear into three or four pieces (four for thick spears, three for thin, you get the idea).

Put the asparagus, tofu cubes and cherry tomatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle with one dessertspoon of oil and roast in a 180c oven for about 15 minutes. You should end up with crisp tofu cubes, tomatoes which have started to split their skins and lightly charred asparagus.

After 15 or so minutes, take the veg out of the oven and put to one side. In a saucepan over a low heat, dry fry the pumpkin seeds and pine nuts until golden brown.

Once browned, add the quinoa to the pan and warm through, then add the veggies and tofu, complete with any juices on the baking tray, and stir.

*Add a dressing if you like - I put in the juice of a quarter of a lemon, a dessertspoon of white wine vinegar and the same of oil from a packet of sunblush tomatoes.