Honey Spiced Rhubarb & Quinoa Salad
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Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Tuck into a summery chopped salad of juicy, refreshing veg, salty feta and torn flatbread, and a spiced salad of nutty quinoa and delicate lamb’s lettuce with honey dressing and extra crunch from crispy ginger and toasted seeds.
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375 kcal
(per portion)
Ingredients you'll need
  • 2 sticks of rhubarb
  • 75g quinoa
  • 2 star anise
  • 25g sunflower seeds
  • 1 orange
  • A handful of chives
  • 100g lamb's lettuce
  • 2 tsp honey
  • A thumb of ginger
From your kitchen
  • 200ml boiling water
  • Sea salt
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
Step by step this way
  • 1.

    Heat your oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. Cut the rhubarb into 2cm-thick chunks. Tumble into a roasting tin. Slide into the oven on a high shelf. Roast for 10 mins or till tender.

  • 2.

    Meanwhile, tip the quinoa into a sieve and rinse for 1-2 mins. Put a large pan over a medium heat. Add 1 star anise and the quinoa. Toast for 2 mins over a low heat. Add 200ml boiling water and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook for 12-15 mins or till all the water is absorbed. Set aside, lid on, for 5 mins.

  • 3.

    Meanwhile, tip the sunflower seeds into a frying pan. Toast for 2-3 mins till browned and nutty smelling. Tip into a bowl. Set aside.

  • 4.

    Finely grate the zest from the orange into the cooked quinoa. Gently fold through the roasted rhubarb. Finely chop the chives. Add them to the pan along with the lamb’s lettuce and toss to mix.

  • 5.

    Juice the orange into a food processor. Add the other star anise, a pinch of salt, 2 tsp honey, 2cm peeled ginger and 2 tbsp oil. Blend till smooth. Strain the dressing through a sieve. No processor? Use a mortar and pestle or a bowl and jam jar to crush the star anise. Whisk with the orange juice, grated ginger, honey, oil and salt, and strain.

  • 6.

    Arrange the salad on a plate. Drizzle over the dressing. Peel the rest of the ginger. Slice into matchsticks. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a frying pan. Add the ginger with a pinch of salt. Sizzle for 2-3 mins till crisp. Scatter over the salad along with the toasted sunflower seeds.

  • Tip

    Rinse & repeat
    Rinsing quinoa before you cook it helps to make sure any saponin is washed off the quinoa. The saponin coasts each grain as a natural defence against insects, but it has a strong, soapy flavour. Rinsing it make sure the coating is washed away, leaving you with tasty grains.