Parsley, Mint, Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad

From Leftovers to Newovers: I had some mint, parsley and quinoa in the fridge and started searching online for some recipe inspiration which used these ingredients. I found this great Parsley, Mint and Quinoa Salad recipe by Martha Stewart which I experimented with by adding some other ingredients to the recipe.

I just love it! It's so refreshing with the mint and lemon. It was one of the dishes I made for Shane's 30th back in April and finally got around to posting the recipe for it. Great on it's own, side salad or with pita!

Parsley, Mint, Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad
(adapted from this recipe)
Makes about 6 servings.

You'll need:

• 1 medium sweet potato
• 2 cups flat-leaf parsley leaves finely chopped 
• 2 cups mint leaves finely chopped 
• 1-2 cucumbers diced
• 1-2 cloves of minced garlic
• 2 green onions chopped
• 3/4 cup cooked quinoa (from about 1/2 cup dry) 
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus fresh lemon juice 
• Extra-virgin olive oil 
• Coarse salt 

How to:

1. Cook quinoa ahead of time and let it cool down completely. (Here is a great recipe on how to cook perfect quinoa every time)
2. Preheat oven to 180ºC (about 365ºF). Peal and dice the sweet potato. In a bowl, drizzle a bit of olive oil and toss to lightly coat. Spread the diced sweet potato on to a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Bake for about 15 to 25 minutes and turning them over half way through.
3. Combine chopped parsley, mint, cucumber, garlic, green onions, cooled quinoa, in a large bowl.
4. Mix in a juice of a lemon, lemon zest, olive oil and a touch of salt and mix it all together
5. Once the sweet potato is out of the oven and cooled, mix it in with the salad.
6. Serve as the main dish, a side salad or with toasted pitas.

Optional: Serve with pita

• 3 whole-wheat pitas (or tortilla, which is what I had in my pantry at the time) - heat up pitas or tortillas, until toasted, on a sandwich grill or under the broiler in the oven. Cut into wedges.
• In a bowl, a couple spoonfuls of greek yogurt with a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes, salt and olive oil.

READ MORE...

Quinoa Sweet Potato Burger

I absolutely love this recipe for quinoa sweet potato cakes that I found by GenY Foodie. I was looking for ideas to make something with quinoa and sweet potatoes and Google search led me to this!

I am currently obsessed with quinoa and its versatility and I have also been having sweet potato cravings lately. So, I am thrilled to have found something that combines the two and, let me tell you, this quinoa sweet potato cake is very delicious, full flavoured and juicy. Even the boyfriend gave his 2 thumbs up knowing that it doesn't have any meat in it!

It is very filling and you can eat on its own, burger style, as a sandwich or break it up into a salad. Each cake is ONLY 164 calories (if you're counting that is)!

I chose to have it burger style:

• sandwich thins
• a dark green leafy lettuce
• sliced cucumbers
• avocado slices
• havarti cheese
• a touch of ranch dressing

And it kept me full and feeling satisfied. 

Here's the quinoa sweet potato cake recipe! Yum!!

READ MORE...