Quinoa, Carrot, Olive + Almond (serves 3)

Ingredients:

150g quinoa

8 carrots

small jar black olives (olives halved and stones removed)

50g almonds (toasted)

bag mixed salad or rocket

ras el hanout spice mix

olive oil or avocado oil for roasting

Preheat the oven to 180C. Peel the carrots and chop in a diagonal direction (it looks pretty!) about 1cm thick. Add to a roasting dish, sprinkle with the ras el hanout spice mix, oil and a little salt for seasoning. Roast until the carrots are al dente and just golden (they don’t need to be super soft, but once a fork goes through easily they’re fine - a little crunch is nice!).

Whilst the carrots are roasting, you can prepare the quinoa. Put in a saucepan with a pinch of salt and cover well with water. Bring to the boil, then once boiling, lower to a simmer and simmer until the quinoa is cooked. I would put a timer on for about 8 mins, then check regularly until just cooked. Again, you don’t want the quinoa to be very soft, you want it cooked through with a nice bite to it. Drain and leave to cool - you can rinse with cold water.

Prepare the olives if needed by making sure the stones are removed (it’s easier to buy them de-stoned), and cut them in half. You can also lightly toast the almonds by adding them to a dry frying pan and heating until they are just brown - keep them moving and be careful not to burn. They will toast quickly.

Once the carrots are cooked you can remove from the oven and build the salad. You may want to leave them for 5 mins until warm rather than pipping hot as not to wilt the salad leaves. in a big salad bowl, mix the carrots with the quinoa, olives, large handful of mixed salad leaves and toasted almonds. Drizzle with a little more fresh olive oil, have a taste and add spice mix and seasoning if needed.