The salad that stacks up
Caramelised pineapple, coconut, quinoa salad with spicy chilli dressing
INGREDIENTS: ◗ 1 cup quinoa grains ◗ ½ pineapple ◗ ½ red cabbage ◗ ¼ white drum cabbage ◗ ½ bunch spring onions, sliced ◗ 1 carrot, peeled ◗ 1⁄2 bunch coriander, washed well, stalks chopped finely and leaves picked ◗ 1 roast chicken, meat pulled off the bones and shredded ◗ 1 cup shredded coconut toasted ◗ Extra coriander for garnish
For the dressing: ◗ 2 long green chillies, sliced ◗ ¼ cup lime juice ◗ 60ml fish sauce ◗ ¼ tsp sesame oil ◗ 150ml sweet chili sauce
METHOD: Rinse the quinoa and cook as directed on the packet, drain and set aside to cool.
Peel the pineapple and slice it into rounds of 1cm thickness, depending on how many people you are feeding.
Heat a grill pan over a moderate to high temperature and place the pineapple in the pan, leaving it for 4-5 minutes before looking or turning it over – you want to caramelise the pineapple and see the char lines.
If you don’t have a grill pan you can use a frying pan. Set the pineapple aside.
For the remainder of the salad, either shred or finely chop the red cabbage, white cabbage and the carrot together – you can also do this by placing the ingredients in a food processor and pulsing the ingredients for a couple of seconds.
To assemble the dish, combine the quinoa with the chopped cabbages, carrot, spring onions, coriander and shredded chicken.
Add the toasted coconut and the dressing and toss well to combine the dressing and the salad.
Place a slice of pineapple on the plate and then pile up a portion of the salad, garnish with coriander, a slice of lime and a scattering of toasted coconut and serve.