Meatless Monday – Raw mushroom superfood salad

Serves 4-6

You’ll need: 1 cup mixed red & white quinoa; 2 cups vegetable stock; 200g tender stem broccoli; 200g cooked spelt; 250g white button mushrooms, sliced; 1 ripe avocado; 50g baby leafy greens/ rocket/ watercress/ herbs; 40g raw almonds; 50g fresh pomegranate rubies

For the pickled onions – 1 large red onion, very thinly sliced; ½ cup water; ½ cup apple cider vinegar; 1 tbsp maple syrup; 2 tsp sea salt

How to: 

For the pickled onions:

Pack the sliced onions into a heat-proof glass jar.

In a small saucepan, combine the water, vinegar, maple syrup and salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Carefully pour the hot mixture into the jar over the onions.

Press the onions down with a spoon so they are submerged in the vinegar mixture. Allow cooling. Seal and refrigerate.

For the quinoa:

Rinse quinoa well in a sieve with cold running water. Transfer to a pot with the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for approximately 20-30 minutes until all the stock has been absorbed. Fluff with a fork and allow to cool.

Steam tender stem broccoli for a few minutes until just tender but still crunchy.

Roughly chop and add to a large mixing bowl.

Into the large mixing bowl add the cooled quinoa, cooked spelt, sliced mushrooms, diced avocado, leafy greens and a handful of pickled onions. Toss gently to combine.

Transfer tossed salad into a large bowl and scatter with almonds and pomegranate rubies.

Dress with a little olive oil and pickled onion juice just before serving.

* Recipe & image by The South African Mushroom Farmers’ Association.