Justin Woods, head chef at The Castle Green Hotel, Kendal, and Greenhouse restaurant

I hadn’t heard of it, but recently a friend mentioned quinoa. I’d like to make them a surprise meal using quinoa, has chef any suggestions?

Tamara Butler

Cockermouth

Quinoa, pronounced “keen wah,” is the superfood of the future, identified by the United Nations as a super crop, it contains all eight of the essential amino acids, packed with dietary fibre, gluten free and easy to digest, it’s as close to a perfect ingredient as you can get. Grown by the Incas for hundreds of years, but only just becoming well known in Europe. How about making a roasted vegetable, quinoa and feta salad? Peel and thickly slice one red onion and slice two red peppers, toss with a splash of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast in a hot onion for about 8 minutes. Crush 3 cloves of garlic and thickly slice two courgettes, add to the onions and peppers and roast for a further ten minutes. Wash 200g of quinoa in cold water, drain, then simmer in boiling water for about 8-10 minutes, drain and refresh in cold water. Make a dressing by combining the juice and zest of 1 lemon with 100ml olive oil. In a large bowl combine the cooked quinoa with the roasted vegetables and the lemon dressing, add about 200g crumbled feta cheese and a small bunch of chopped parsley. Season with salt and pepper and serve with some wild rocket and red chard leaves.