Quinoa salad with watermelon
Serves 4
400g watermelon with seeds, cut into 1cm dice
¼ tsp red chilli powder
10 fresh mint leaves, chopped
½ tsp salt
2tsp sesame seeds
50g lightly salted cashews
Juice of ½ lime
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
For the quinoa salad:
2tsps vegetable or corn oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
200g quinoa, boiled
2cm piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1tbsp chopped coriander
½ red pepper, thinly sliced
1tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
Juice of ½ lemon
Method:
Combine watermelon, red chilli powder, mint and salt in a medium sized bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Drain and discard the liquid.
Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan for 1 minute, then set aside. Toast the cashew nuts in the same way, then halve or chop them and set aside.
Whisk the lime juice and hoisin sauce and together in a small bowl to blend, then stir in the toasted sesame seeds.
To serve as a canapé, make sure the watermelon is chilled. Sprinkle the hoisin dressing on each cube. Place on a serving tray, sprinkle over the cashew nuts and serve immediately.
To make the quinoa salad, heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they start to crackle, remove from the heat and mix them in a bowl with quinoa. Mix with the remaining ingredients and adjust the seasoning.
Divide the quinoa between four plates and spoon on the watermelon salad. Top each salad with hoisin dressing, sprinkle with cashew nuts and serve.
Vivek Singh is one of the most successful and respected modern Indian chefs in the country, with four renowned London restaurants and one Oxford restaurant to his name – the authentic dining experience of The Cinnamon Club, the City’s Cinnamon Kitchen, Covent Garden’s Cinnamon Bazaar, the first out of London Cinnamon Kitchen Oxford and most recently Cinnamon Kitchen Battersea.
Don’t miss your chance to see Vivek cooking his inspiring cuisine at Foodies Festival Syon Park on Monday 28th May (May Bank Holiday) Tickets available here: https://bit.ly/2qdjRPB