Beetroot & Feta Quinoa Salad

This is the first of the “Recipes at Sea” series. A hearty, healthy and nutty salad that you can prepare at sea easily with minimal effort and in any weather conditions. This salad was tested and approved by the crew during a recent delivery in the Med. We were under sail, close haul.

–INGREDIENTS– serves 4-6 (generous) portions 

• 4 boiled beetroots 
• 2 carrots grated 
• 1 onion
• 250g cooked quinoa
• 200g feta
• A few leaves of romana lettuce chopped
• Handful of crushed hazelnuts

–SEASONING–

• Juice and zest of 1 lemon   
• Olive oil
• Salt pepper to taste 
• Chilli flakes to taste
• Oregano 

Optional: for extra crunchiness, crush some 3-4 carob carob crackers 

–DIRECTIONS–

1. Cook your quinoa according to directions in advance if you can – allow it to cool down to room temperature if you can. Tip: add olive oil in the cooking water for flavour. Add quinoa to a salad bowl.
2. Chop your beetroots into cubes and add to the bowl.
3. Peel and grate your carrots. Add to the bowl.
4. Chop feta into cubes and add to the bowl. 
5. Chop onion finely and add to the bowl.
6. Chop romana lettuce into small pieces and add to bowl
7. Crush and add hazelnuts to the bowl. Tip: put them into a freezer bag and crush them by rolling a bottle over them or use the back of a pan to achieve the same result. 
8. Mix all ingredients to “wet”, “colour” and flavour the quinoa.
9. Zest your lemon and juice it. Add to mix. (the fine side of a 4-side grater works fine and if you have a zester, even better). 
10. Add olive oil, oregano, salt, pepper and chilli flakes. Mix well and don’t forget to taste. Add seasoning as needed

Kali Orexi (Enjoy your meal in Greek)