Quinoa salad with the Thermomix® only works properly if you rinse the quinoa first. Otherwise the salad tastes bitter.
We make this quinoa salad at least twice a month throughout autumn and winter. It keeps for four days in the fridge and provides plant-based protein without any meat. The combination of warm, sweet squash and crunchy toasted walnuts is what makes it so satisfying.
Quinoa Salad with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 14 ✓
- 1000 g water
- 1 tsp salt
- 160 g white quinoa
- 300 g butternut squash
- 120 g walnuts
- 1/2 tbsp curry powder
- 20 g honey
- 100 g baby leaf spinach
- 1 dried chilli
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tbsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 30 g olive oil
- 10 g lemon juice
Instructions 0 / 6
-
1
Weigh in the quinoa.
Add water and 1 tsp salt to the mixing bowl. Hang in the steaming basket and weigh in the quinoa. Remove the steaming basket, rinse under cold water and place back in.
-
2
Prepare the squash.
Peel, deseed and cut the squash into strips, then spread across the base of the Varoma®. Place the Varoma® on top and cook for 15 min / Varoma / speed 1.
-
3
Toast the walnuts.
Meanwhile, toast the walnuts in a non-stick frying pan, sprinkle with a little curry powder and add the honey. Leave to cool.
-
4
Set the ingredients aside.
Transfer the quinoa and squash to a salad bowl and empty the mixing bowl. Wash the leaf spinach, remove any thick stalks, and add to the bowl.
-
5
Mix the dressing.
Add the chilli, salt, curry powder and pepper to the mixing bowl and mix for 10 sec / speed 8.
Add the olive oil and lemon juice and mix for 10 sec / speed 3.
-
6
Dress and serve the salad.
Pour the dressing over the salad and fold through. Garnish the salad with the walnut mixture and serve.
Tip: When cooking in the second step, please follow the manufacturer's instructions. Some quinoa varieties require a longer cooking time.
Nutrition per serving
Why rinsing the quinoa is essential
Quinoa grains are naturally coated with saponins. This is a bitter protective compound produced by the plant. Many manufacturers wash the grains before selling them, but not all. That is why you rinse the 160 g of quinoa in the steaming basket under cold water until the water runs clear. It takes about 30 seconds. Without this step, the salad will taste soapy and bitter.
White quinoa needs 15 minutes at Varoma and speed 1 in the steaming basket. Red or black quinoa can take up to 20 minutes. If you buy a mixed variety, allow for the longer time. After cooking, let the grains cool briefly, otherwise the spinach will wilt.
The squash cooks in the Varoma while the quinoa steams
The butternut squash cooks in the Varoma at the same time as the quinoa. Peel, deseed and cut 300 g of squash into even strips. The strips should be no thicker than 1 cm, otherwise they will still be firm after 15 minutes. Spread them across the base of the Varoma and place it on top.
While the quinoa and squash are cooking, we toast the 120 g of walnuts in a non-stick frying pan without any fat. Medium heat, stirring constantly. After 3 to 4 minutes the nuts smell nutty and turn lightly golden. Then scatter over the half tablespoon of curry powder and add the 20 g of honey. Toss for another 30 seconds, then remove from the heat and leave to cool. Without toasting, the walnuts taste flat.
Curry in the dressing and on the nuts ties the salad together
The dressing carries the same curry note as the walnuts. That is not a coincidence. Curry appears three times in this recipe: in the dressing, on the nuts and as a flavour thread. This makes the salad taste like one cohesive dish rather than three separate components.
The dried chilli is ground with the salt, curry powder and white pepper for 10 seconds at speed 8. Then add the olive oil and lemon juice and emulsify for 10 seconds at speed 3. Done. The dressing is spicy, oily and sharp. It does not need any cream or yoghurt.
Keep the spinach fresh
The 100 g of baby leaf spinach go into the bowl right at the end. The quinoa and squash must have cooled to room temperature first, otherwise the spinach will wilt when you fold it through. Remove any thick stalks, rinse briefly, then add to the bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad only just before serving.
If you want to prepare the salad ahead of time, keep the dressing separate. As soon as the dressing hits the spinach, it draws out moisture and the spinach goes limp. Stored in the fridge without dressing, the salad keeps for four days. With dressing, no more than six hours.
Other nuts and squash varieties
Instead of walnuts you can toast hazelnuts or almonds. Hazelnuts work better with a sharper dressing, almonds with a sweeter one. Cashews become too soft when toasted and do not work well here.
Butternut squash has very little fibre and turns sweet when cooked. Kabocha squash works too, but comes out slightly drier. Muscat squash is too fibrous. If you use kabocha, leave the skin on and cut the pieces a little thinner.
Serve the quinoa cold or warm
The salad works both cold and lukewarm. Cold, it makes a great side dish with grilled food or a complete meal on its own. Lukewarm, it pairs well with fish or as an autumn lunch. Always add the walnuts just before serving, otherwise they lose their crunch.
Goes well with: Falafel and Hummus.
If you are having the salad as a main course, allow for 2 large portions rather than 4 small ones. Quinoa fills you up quickly, but the spinach loses volume.
More salad recipes with the Thermomix®: Roasted Vegetable Salad, Coleslaw, Farmer’s Salad.
