My parents came down for a visit a few months back and we tried out a cafe that had heaps of great reviews. The Golden Pig is in Newstead in Brisbane and if you get the chance to go, you won’t be disappointed! The food is sublime.

Mum and Dad has this yummy quinoa salad with some slow cooked lamb and we were blown away by the flavours. Of course we had to then try to recreate it when we got home. Sadly, it’s not quite as good as the original but it’s pretty close.

I have served the salad to a few visitors and they all really love it. I hope you do too.

Quinoa and Pomegranate Salad

Vital Stats: gluten free, grain free, dairy free, egg free, vegetarian, vegan, paleo

What you need:

5 cups cooked white quinoa

1 cup finely shredded baby spinach

4 finely chopped small green shallots

1/2 cup finely shredded parsley

1/2 cup finely shredded mint

1 large pomegranate, deseeded

1/2 cup roughly chopped pistachios

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

2 crushed garlic cloves

salt and pepper to taste

How to do it:

Whisk up the lemon juice, oil, garlic, salt and pepper together or shake in a glass jar. Add to the rest of the ingredients and gently mix. I like to leave it to sit for a few hours in the fridge for the flavours to develop.

This salad will serve about eight to ten people as a side. We serve this with slow cooked, marinated lamb and a generous dollop of home-made hummus. Divine!

*Hot Tip

A lot of people tell me they hate quinoa!! You do need to give it a really good wash before you cook it as the outside of the grains have saponins which can be quite bitter. I soak it for a bit in some water and then rinse really well. I find adding a little salt to the cooking water also helps bring out the flavour.

This would make an awesome salad for the Christmas lunch menu! Find some more whole food Christmas recipes here.