This recipe for green bowl with quinoa is simple and easy, in truth inspired by my last recipe’s leftovers. I made lots of lemon tofu for my last recipe and wanted and easy a delicious way to turn these leftovers into a meal and that’s how this green bowl came about.

This recipe is effortlessly vegan and gluten-free. I used gluten-free quinoa as the base for the dish as I am always watching my protein intake these days (I lift weights three times a week) and quinoa has almost double the amount of protein compared to rice, for example. A hundred gram (3.5 oz) of cooked quinoa has about 4.4 g of protein while the same amount of cooked rice has only about 2.7 g. Quinoa also contains all nice essential amino acids.

Apart from quinoa, I included two other protein heavy hitters in this recipe, chickpeas and petits pois. They are nutritious, protein rich and an easy win that requires hardly any prep. The chickpeas come in a can or a jar (although you can of course cook them yourself) and petits pois cook from frozen in 3 minutes.

I then bring all of these simple ingredients together with a simple warm dressing of spring onion infused olive oil, miso and lemon. It’s a delicious combination and it seasons and brightens this dish up a lot.

That’s it, there isn’t any more to it, maybe except for some fresh herbs. If you have some in your fridge – use them. Dill, mint or basil all work beautifully and they always make everything taste better. I topped my green bowls with wedges of lemon tofu I published the recipe for last week, but your favourite semi-soft cheese crumbed on top would be just as delicious. Or failing that, you could drizzle a simple tahini sauce on top, for extra flavour and extra calcium too.

MORE ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS

SPRING GREENS: Spring greens are packed with nutrients, especially calcium, they also happen to be dirt cheap. I admit, I don’t use them an awful lot in my kitchen so I decided to change that and add a generous amount of them to this simple green bowl. They only require about 90 seconds of cooking to get tender. If you cannot find them, you can use a different type of dark green leafy veg like kale.

LEMON: I love the addition of lemon, both zest and juice, to elevate this simple dish. I went for quite a tang as I enjoy it but you are welcome to adjust the amount to your, taste of course.

MISO: Miso is a fantastic flavour enhancer, it also provides the dish with seasoning. I used white miso here as its fairly mild flavour works with lemon in my opinion.

PETITS POIS: Petits pois are a more tender and sweeter cousin of green peas. They are just as vibrantly green and are easily available frozen. I keep a bag of them in my freezer at all times and add them to some of my meals for added plant-protein and a splash of colour.

CHICKPEAS: Canned chickpeas are another fuss-free way to add more plant-protein and another plant variety to your meals. You can use other pulses if you prefer, but chickpeas work the best in my opinion.

AROMATICS: I used a bunch of spring onions (known as scallions in the UK) in conjuction with a couple of garlic cloves to infuse the dish with more flavour. You want to use only white and light green parts of spring onions when sauteeing and keep the dark green, chive-like, tops for garnish.

QUINOA: Quinoa is a versatile pseudograin that is rich in protein and which contains all 9 amino acids that human bodies are not able to make on their own. There is black, red and white quinoa available, I used a mixture of all three as my local supermarket sells bags of all three types mixture together.

HOW TO MAKE IT?

1) COOK YOUR GREENS

First, cook your petits pois and your spring greens until tender. They only take three and one and a half minutes respectively but I recommend cooking them separately, one by one. That way you can control their level of doneness better and you’ll only have one pot to wash up, don’t worry.

2) COOK YOUR QUINOA

Once I am done with my greens, I move on to cook my quinoa. I use the same pot for all three so that there isn’t a mountain of dishes to wash up afterwards.

The best way to cook quinoa in my opinion is through the absorption method. You want to cook it covered in 1 : 1.5 ratio of grain to water, on low heat, until all of the water gets absorbed. It is helpful to cook it in a pot with a glass lid so that you can check if there is any water left to absorb before switching the heat off. Once cooked, let it stand with the lid still on for another 10-15 minutes so that it finishes cooking in its own steam. That’s it, perfect quinoa every time.

3) MAKE WARM MISO DRESSING

While the quinoa is simmering away, heat up some olive oil in a large pan and infuse it with spring onions and garlic. Once the oil is ready, whisk in some miso diluted with lemon juice and add some lemon zest too for lemon flavour without extra tartness.

4) MIX EVERYTHING IN

Once your dressing is ready, combine all the ingredients together. Taste, adjust the seasoning if needed and divide between four bowls. I like to top this dish with protein rich tofu (this lemon tofu is perfect) or your favourite cheese would also be delicious and make this simple dish more satiating.