Beetroot, red apple and goat's cheese salad

This beautiful, colourful and delicious beetroot, red apple and goat's cheese salad contains an abundance of vitamin C and quercetin, both of which have been shown to be supportive of seasonal allergies.

You'll find vitamin C in almost all fruit and veg and quercetin in some red coloured produce such as red onions and red apples, although the food that contains the most quercetin is capers - chop some into a yoghurt dressing to spoon over a piece of salmon if you want an extra quercetin hit!

Of course, just eating this salad isn't going to stop the annoying sneezes and itchy eyes, but by making sure that you include 5-7 portions of coloured vegetables and 2 portions of fruit each day, and the occasional teaspoon of capers, will go some way to keeping your immune system happy!

Ingredients

100 g quinoa, rinsed

200ml water

1 apple, cored, and diced

½ red onion, finely sliced

50 g walnut halves, roughly chopped

1 garlic clove, peeled and minced

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp cider vinegar

1 tbsp honey

½ tbsp Dijon mustard

½ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp ground black pepper

100 g kale, tough stems removed

60g goat's cheese, crumbled

50 g cooked beetroot, diced (1 cm)

50 g dried cranberries

Method

Place the rinsed quinoa and 200 ml water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 14 minutes or until water is absorbed and quinoa is tender. If any water remains, drain it off. Fluff quinoa with a fork to separate the grains, transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool.

Remove any tough stems from kale and chop leaves into small pieces (about 1–2 cm). Top kale tip - if you prefer a softer texture, massage the chopped kale with a pinch of salt for 1–2 minutes until it darkens and softens. Place the kale in a large salad bowl.

In a small bowl or jar, combine the minced garlic, olive oil, cider vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper and whisk or shake well until fully combined.

Pour the dressing over the kale along with the cooled quinoa and toss together until well coated.

Add the chopped apple and walnuts to the salad bowl along with the onion, crumbled goat's cheese, diced beetroot, dried cranberries, and gently stir everything together until evenly mixed.

Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to eat.

Recipe & Photo Credit - Cookidoo.co.uk & Food Revolution Network.org