quinoa salad with golden raisins, brunoise of yellow zucchini, chickpeas, white balsamic caramelized tofu, and sun dried tomatoes

Preparation time: 30 min

• Preparation

  Soak the raisins in room temperature water, to soften and inflate them.

  Cut the zucchini into bruniose (small cubes).

  Rinse the chickpeas under cold water.

  Finely dice the sun dried tomatoes.

  Cut the tofu into 1 cm cubes.

• Cooking the quinoa

  Place the quinoa into a pot with just under two times water (remember it will triple in size when cooked, so choose an appropriate pot). Bring it to a boil and then lower to a simmer, keep cooking the quinoa, covered, for about 10-15 minutes, until all the water is absorbed. Take it off the heat, and let it sit for another 10 minutes, still covered. This will give you an airier result.

• Caramelized tofu

  Bring the balsamic vinegar and sugar to a boil, cook and let it rdeuce for 5 minutes until you achieve a caramel consistency, without darkening. Remove from heat.

  Toss the tofu with the caramel until fully coated.

  Sautee the tofu until a nice colour is achieved, set aside.

• Dressing and plating

  In a large mixing bowl, delicately mix all the ingredients, except for the parsley. Add a splash of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

  Place your salad into a bowl and finish with a sprinkling of parsley for garnish.