Toasted quinoa bowls with roasted almond vinaigrette

The key to building a good bowl is in the variety of toppings: some cooked, some raw, different colours, shapes and textures.

SERVES 2

PREPARATION TIME 20 minutes, plus cooling

COOKING TIME 1 hour 10 minutes

25g whole skin-on almonds

1 small sweet potato, cut into 5mm–1cm rounds

5tbsp olive oil

400g tin butter beans, drained and rinsed

1/4tsp sweet smoked paprika Juice of 1/2 lemon

100g quinoa

2 cooked, peeled beetroot, cut into wedges

100g sunflower sprouts or pea shoots

Sea salt

For the pickled red onion

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

1tbsp red wine vinegar

1tsp runny honey

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C (180˚C fan) mark 6.

2 Tip the almonds into a small roasting tray. Toss the sweet potato in a second roasting tray with 1tbsp oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast the almonds for 6-8min until golden; tip into a bowl to cool. Roast the potatoes for 25–30min, tossing halfway through cooking.

3 Toss the butter beans in a bowl with 1tbsp oil, some salt, the paprika and a splash of lemon juice, then tip into the roasting pan you cooked the almonds in and roast for 12–15min.

4 Meanwhile, to make the pickle, toss the onion in a small bowl with the vinegar, honey and a little salt.

5 Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, tip in the quinoa and simmer for 12min or until tender but still with a little bite (check pack instructions as cooking times can vary), scooping off any scum that rises to the surface. Drain thoroughly in a sieve, then spread out on a plate and leave to cool for 10min.

6 When either the butter beans or sweet potato are cooked, tip into a bowl. Wipe out the tray with paper towel, then tip in the quinoa with another tablespoon of oil and toss; season with salt and another squeeze of lemon juice and roast for 15–20min, stirring halfway, then remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.

7 Lift the onion from its pickling liquid and set aside in a bowl. Add the remaining 2tbsp oil to the pickling liquid, then roughly chop the almonds and stir in. Tip into the toasted quinoa and stir together; check the seasoning.

8 To build the dish, put a layer of the dressed quinoa in the base of a bowl or on a plate. Arrange the butter beans, sweet potato, beetroot and sunflower sprouts over the top. Scatter with the pickled onion, squeeze over any remaining lemon juice and serve.