Hello lovelies, I'm usually not a big fan of new year resolutions, but there is one thing I'd like to implement: eating more colorful. And therefore here is a recipe for: colorful salad with sweet potato and quinoa. We like to eat salads even in the winter time. But compared to summer, where green lettuce are usually enough, I prefer to have it more firm and diverse. The salad can still be a bit warm with colorful veggies from the oven and a cereal and protein side dish.
All these requirements are met by this rainbow salad with sweet potato and quinoa. Quinoa forms the basis (although it's "only" a pseudo-cereal), furthermore there is a yummy sweet potato, crispy tofu from the oven, spinach and pomegranate seeds that provide even more color on the plate. I made a light dressing, because the salad itself combines enough flavors, it would be a pity to combine this with a heavy dressing. The salad is not only very pretty to look at, it's wholesome, healthy and tastes delicious.
Recipe
Ok so here is the recipe for colorful salad with sweet potato and quinoa:
Colorful salad with sweet potato and quinoa
Ingredients
- 200 gr 7 oz. quinoa
- 1-2 sweet potatoes 500-600 gr / 17-21 oz.
- 2 shallots
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp maple sirup
- Paprika salt, pepper
- 200 gr 7 oz. tofu (e.g. truffle tofu)
- 2 Tbsp starch
- 100 gr 3.5 oz. leaf spinach
- 1/2 pomegranate
Dressing:
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 tsp maple sirup
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Rinse the quinoa and cook it according to the packet instructions - place aside
- In the meantime preheat the oven to 200°C (392°F)
- Dice the sweet potatoes, cut the shallots into dice or slices
- Mix both with the spices and spread on a baking pan
- Dice the tofu, mix it with starch and spices and also spread it on the baking pan
- Bake together for approx. 20-25 minutes until everything is well done and the tofu is crispy
- Rinse the spinach and take the seeds out the pomegranate
- Mix the dressing in a glass and serve the salad in a large bowl
The tofu with starch gets really crispy in the oven. We love it and I had to be careful there was still something left for the salad and not everything eaten while cooking. This time I used truffle tofu which tastes especially fine. Of course you can also use natural tofu, then I would spice it up a bit more, because there is almost nothing worse than bland tofu. The dressing is very simple, but that's exactly what a salad with different flavor components needs. If you prefer a salad with a lot of dressing, then you can double the amount.
We had the salad for lunch and since there was something left, I just served it warm again in the evening. I briefly heated everything in the pan, added a little vegan cream and cheese and the kids really enjoyed it a second time. This is also a good option if you eat the salad cold, but warm it for the children, if that's what they prefer.
I have 3 tofu lovers at home by now, who would have thought?! It's really important that it turns out really crispy, which you can achieve with starch and it also works well if you fry it in the pan. I hope I could inspire you with this colorful winter salad and you'll also get more color on the table in this gray or white January. And if you're looking for more salad inspirations then try one of my other salad recipes here.
Love, Verena
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This post is also available in: deutsch
