Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is a tiny round grain from South America which, when cooked, has a lovely soft texture while still retaining its shape. It has a mild flavour, which absorbs whatever flavours you mix with it and lends itself wonderfully to herby citrus flavours. It’s perfect mixed with prawns and herbs – if you are barbecuing, then griddle the prawns instead and stir into the quinoa.
Ingredients
- 100g quinoa
- 15g butter
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 350g raw prawns with tail-shells on
- 250g ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
- Bunch of fresh dill, chopped
- Bunch of flatleaf parsley, chopped
- 6 spring onions, finely sliced
- 1 large ripe avocado, halved, stoned, peeled and sliced
- 50g Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- Juice of 1 lemon
Method
- 1. Place the quinoa in a large pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and cook for 20 minutes, until tender. Drain well and set aside.
- 2. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large frying pan, add the garlic and prawns and cook for 3 minutes, until the prawns are cooked through.
- 3. Place the prawns in a large bowl and stir in the tomatoes, dill, parsley, onions, avocado, chopped olives, extra-virgin olive oil and the lemon juice. Stir in the drained quinoa and season well to taste.
Nutritional info
Per serving: 378kcals, 25g fat (5.9g saturated), 21.3g protein, 17.9g carbs, 4.5g sugar, 0.8g salt
Wine Recommendation
A zesty partner here is a fragrant, lean Riesling from New Zealand’s Marlborough region.