Nutty quinoa salad

(Pictured) Serves 4 You will need:

● 1 sweet potato or 1 parsnip, or ¼ of a celeriac, peeled and cut into 5cm chunks

● 10 sprigs of thyme

● 50ml extra-virgin olive oil

● Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

● 50g whole almonds, skin on

● 250ml vegetable stock or chicken stock

● 125g quinoa

● 100g feta, roughly crumbled into chunks (see my Top Tip, left)

● 4 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 Preheat the oven to 200C, 400F, Gas 5.

2 In a bowl, mix together the sweet potato or parsnip or celeriac chunks, whichever you’re using, the thyme sprigs and the extra-virgin olive oil, and season with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

3 Place the mix in a roasting tin in the preheated oven and roast for 30-40 minutes until the vegetables are tender and slightly caramelised around the edges.

Then remove from the oven, leaving it on, and set aside.

4 Put the almonds on a roasting tray and into the oven. Roast them for 5-8 minutes, tossing them halfway through, until they are golden inside. Remove the nuts from the oven and chop them very roughly.

5 Put the vegetable stock or chicken stock, whichever you’re using, in a saucepan on a medium heat. Bring to the boil, then add the quinoa and season with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 10-12 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa is just tender.

6 When the quinoa is cooked, put it in a bowl with the roasted veg you set aside earlier (discard the thyme twigs, but add any leaves), and most of the roasted nuts, feta chunks and chopped parsley. Taste for seasoning. Transfer to a plate and scatter with the rest of the nuts, feta and parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature. ●