I found this recipe from the BBC Good Food Guide but instead of adding cooked chicken, we decided to keep it entirely vegan and substituted with roasted nuts instead.

I mixed the nuts and dressing together with the salad and it was really good.

On another occasion, I simply used a mixed brown and wild rice mixture instead of the Quinoa.

This is quick and easy to prepare and satisfyingly filling and, of course, very healthy!

Ingredients

• 250g sachet of cooked quinoa and brown rice (you can use any combination) or 75g quinoa or with a mix of rice or seeds, cooked according to manufacturer's instructions
  One pack of cherry tomatoes, washed and halved
  
• Half a cucumber, cut into small cubes
  
• 2-3 spring onions, finely sliced
  
• 2-3 tablespoons chopped mint
  
• 2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted
  
• 3 cups of mixed nuts (walnuts, brazil nuts, almonds and hazlenuts), lightly toasted

For the Dressing:

• 1 Avocado
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• One teaspoon of Dijon mustard
  
• Zest and juice of half a lemon
  
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 200C Fan.
   
   
2. Spread the nuts and seeds out evenly in a roasting dish and bake for 5-7 minutes.   Keep an eye on them as they suddenly start to change colour and you do not want to let them char.
   
   
3. Remove from the oven and set aside.
   
   
4. To make the dressing, scoop the avocado flesh into a small liquidiser or food processor and cut up with a knife into smallish pieces.
   
   
5. Peel and mince the garlic and add this to the avocado.
   
   
6. Add the mustard together with the zest and juice of half a lemon, plus a little virgin olive oil and the chopped mint.
   
   
7. Now blitz the avocado mixture and adjust the viscosity of the dressing with more olive oil or a little water and set aside either to mix into the salad or into a small serving dish if you wish to add this separately.
   
   
8. Into a large bowl, add the sweetcorn, cherry tomatoes (washed and halved), cucumber (chopped into small squares).   Mix together.
   
   
9. Now add the freshly roasted nuts, mix carefully and at this point, you can choose whether to toss the vegetables with the mint and avocado dressing or just divide between serving plates and serve the dressing separately.