Roast fennel quinoa salad with basil yogurt dressing
This exciting salad is packed with roasted summer vegetables, including fennel, green beans and cherry tomatoes, and finished generously with a vibrant basil and lemon dressing.
Ingreadient
- 1 lemon
- 1 large fennel bulb
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 150g green beans
- 150g cherry tomatoes
- 80g quinoa
- 100g natural yogurt
- 1⁄2 bunch basil, leaves picked
- 50g pitted black olives
- 75g mozzarella (optional)
Instruction
- Heat the oven to 180oC fan/ gas 6. Finely zest the lemon into a bowl and set aside. Cut the fennel into 1cm thick wedges, cutting the woody stalks into 1cm pieces too, to avoid any stringiness, then tip into a roasting tin. Quarter the zested lemon, squeeze the juice over the fennel, then toss with the olive oil and put in the oven to roast for 30 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, add the beans, toss to combine, then return to the oven. After another 12 minutes, put the cherry tomatoes in a small roasting tin and roast for the final 8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the quinoa in boiling salted water for 12 minutes. Whizz the yogurt with the basil leaves to make a bright green dressing. Add it to the bowl with the lemon zest in, stir, then taste and season with plenty of salt and pepper.
- Once all the vegetables are cooked, mix the quinoa and olives into the fennel and beans, then taste and season with salt and pepper. Divide among plates or arrange on a serving platter, then top with torn mozzarella (if using) and the roasted cherry tomatoes. Drizzle with the basil dressing to serve.
