Kale, Quinoa and Balsamic Carrot Salad

Sydney's weather has been absolutely crazy this week. Tuesday was 43˚C, Wednesday and Thursday were 25˚C and then the last 2 days have been back above 30. It's like the weather is actually plotting for the entire city to get sick just as they go back to work and school. And this is summer!

Moody, unstable weather like this calls for uh... flexible (read: make it up as you go) meal planning, because honestly who knows whether you'll feel like warm apple pie or ice cream tomorrow! But this salad is perfect either; warm carrots and wilted kale makes it fine for a cool day, but still its light and fresh enough for a hot day at the same time.

It's my new favourite salad; super yummy, the nuttiness from the kale and quinoa blends really well with balsamic sweetness of the carrots and also super healthy. Also, it features wilted greens, so it was bound to be a winner. I mean, how can you go wrong with wilted spinach/kale/silverbeet? I'm obsessed!

Mia x

Kale, Quinoa and Balsamic Carrot Salad
Based on: http://www.thefirstmess.com/2012/10/11/warm-kale-quinoa-salad-with-roasted-balsamic-beets-recipe/

1/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
1/2 bunch of kale, stems removed and leaves torn into bite-size pieces
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 tsp smoked paprika
handful of parmesan shavings
Carrots:
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C (400˚F). Place the carrots in a small baking dish, along with the balsamic vinegar and grape seed oil and sprinkle the muscovado sugar, salt and pepper. Bake for about 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.
2. Meanwhile, place quinoa in a small saucepan with 1/2 a cup of water and a pinch of salt. Place pot over medium heat and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes or until quinoa is mostly cooked and the little tails start to pop out. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. In a large soup pot, heat the 2 tbsp of grapeseed oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and smoked paprika. Stir around until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the quinoa, a splash of water and half of the kale. Stir around until kale begins to wilt a bit. Add the remaining kale and keep stirring until the kale is wilted. Take off the heat and transfer kale and quinoa mixture to your serving bowl.
4. Arrange roasted carrots on top of the greens and quinoa. Drizzle salad with the balsamic cooking liquid in the pan and scatter with the parmesan shavings on top. Enjoy!