- 75g quinoa
- 25g sesame seeds
- 2 tsp sumach
- 1 lemon
- 2 carrots
- 3 spring onions
- 1 red pointed pepper
- 200g asparagus
- 150ml boiling water
- 3 tsp olive oil
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- Sieve
- Two pans with lids
- Measuring jug
- Pestle and mortar, spice grinder or jar and bowl
- A couple of bowls
- Griddle or frying pan
- 1.
Tip the quinoa into a sieve. Rinse it well under cold water for 2 mins, then tip into a small pan. Add 150 ml boiling water. Cover and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down. Simmer gently for 15-20 mins till the quinoa is tender and the water is absorbed.
- 2.
Use a pestle and mortar, a spice grinder or a jam jar in a bowl to roughly grind the sesame seeds. They don’t have to be finely ground, a bit of crunch is good.
- 3.
Measure out 2 tsp of the sumach. Add it to the sesame seeds. Finely grate or pare the zest from the lemon. Pop to one side. Juice the lemon. Add the juice to the sesame seeds with 1 tsp olive oil. Season. Stir to mix.
- 4.
Trim the carrots. Peel, halve and quarter them. Trim the spring onions. Slice them in half. Halve the pepper. Scoop out the seeds and white bits. Slice the pepper into 6 strips.
- 5.
Fill a pan with boiling water. Bring back to the boil. Snap the woody ends off the asparagus stalks. Trim and halve them. Add the asparagus and carrots to the pan. Simmer for 2 mins. Drain.
- 6.
Pop all the veg in a bowl. Add 2 tsp oil. Season. Toss to coat. Heat a griddle or frying pan till it’s hot. Add the veg, in batches if you need to, and fry for 5-8 mins till they’re blistered and just cooked.
- 7.
Drain any remaining water from the quinoa. Top it with the veg and spoon over the sesame dressing. Sprinkle with the lemon zest and serve.