Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Olives.

A fantastic tasty side salad for a main meal or as a meal on its own, add this recipe to your trusty list of quick and easy 'go to' recipes containing all the essential nutrients to both nourish and feed you and your family.

Using the versatile Quinoa as a base, learn to adapt and use this recipe to fit with what you have in your fridge, garden or pantry at the time.

1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup pitted olives
1 punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 red capsicum, chopped into roughly 1cm squares
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp maple syrup
sea salt
1 garlic clove
3 cups cooked quinoa (see recipe to cook quinoa)
2 cups baby kale leaves
1/3 cup Kale Pesto (see recipe to make pesto)

Preheat oven to 180 degreesC and line two oven trays with baking paper. 

Scatter pumpkin seeds on one tray and bake in oven for 8-10 mins until toasted and browned, keep a close eye on them so you don't they burn.

Spread olives, tomatoes and capsicum on other tray, drizzle with coconut oil, maple syrup and season well with salt. Place in oven and bake for 10-15 mins until soft.

Melt olive oil, becareful not to overheat oil, in a small frying pan, add garlic and cook for 1-2 mins and then add kale leaves, and cook until leaves start to wilt.

Mix garlic, kale, pumpkin seeds, and pesto through quinoa.
Top the quinoa with tomatoes, capsicum and olives and carefully and lightly mix though. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and serve.

Variations: 
Use rocket (arugula) instead of baby kale leaves, but don't cook rocket if you do.
Add corn cut off a cob if you have some on hand.

ENJOY!

note: the base recipe from which I have adapted this salad is from the wonderful cookbook, Clean Living Cookbook, by Luke Hines and Scott Gooding.