Roasted tomato, quinoa and crispy chickpea salad with creamy cashew dressing

Photographer: Jeremy Simons

The iron from plant-based foods isn't as easily absorbed as the iron in meat, but in this vegan salad, combining quinoa with a food that's high in vitamin C, like tomatoes and lemon, improves iron absorption.

Serves: 6

Time to make: 50 mins

Ingredients

More weights & measures

500g cherry tomatoes, halved
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh thyme
freshly ground black pepper
fine sea salt
2 x 400g cans chickpeagarbanzoXsgarbanzosX in spring water, drained and rinsed
2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
70g lightly toasted, roughly chopped almonds
zest and juice of 1 lemon
½ cup roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
½ cup roughly torn fresh basil

Creamy cashew dressing
70g cashew nuts
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon nutritional (savoury) yeast (optional)
juice of ½ lemon

Instructions

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Preheat oven to 180°C. On an oven tray lined with baking paper, place cherry tomatoes cut side up. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over tomatoes, scatter with thyme and season with black pepper and salt. Roast for 25-30 minutes, or until tender and semi-dried. Remove and set aside, leaving oven on.
While tomatoes cook, in a bowl place cashews and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 20-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, spread chickpeas on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Roast for 10-15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes, or until chickpeas are crispy and golden brown.
Cook quinoa according to packet directions. Set aside to cool.
Drain soaking cashews and place in a blender along with other dressing ingredients, plus ½ cup cold water. Blend on high until smooth. Season with salt.
In a large bowl, gently combine cooled quinoa, roasted tomatoes, crispy chickpeas, almonds, lemon zest, parsley and basil, and season with salt. Squeeze over lemon juice and drizzle over remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Divide salad among 6 plates and drizzle over cashew dressing.

HFG tip

Got leftover fresh herbs? They’ll keep well in the fridge, wrapped in a clean damp tea towel.

Nutrition Info (per serve)

Calories 583 cal

Kilojoules 2440 kJ

Protein 21 g

Total fat 29 g

Saturated fat 4 g

Carbohydrates 50 g

Sugar 7 g

Dietary fibre 14 g

Sodium 440 mg

Calcium 130 mg

Iron 6 mg

Note: This nutrition analysis is a guide only. Nutrition composition will vary depending on the exact ingredients used. See our guides on your optimal daily nutrition intake, and supermarket shopping.