Rainbow Chard, Kale & Quinoa Salad

In my last post I talked about not feel like making salad as a side dish. After all, I am one-dish kind of girl especially during the week days.

So today, I’m going to present you with my one-dish salad as a main. This may not look like a big meal but it is surprisingly filling. It could be the quinoa or the beefy portobello mushrooms or the hearty kale and chard or all of the above that makes this an ideal standalone dish.

{The rainbow chard and kale was from my friend’s vegetable patch. Don’t you think bright colour trend is not limited to only fashion? :P}

Rainbow Chard, Kale & Quinoa Salad

(A generous serving for one person)

Ingredients:-

• A bunch of rainbow chard and kale mix – about 7 stalks, washed, trimed and removed the fibrous ends
• 3 large portobello mushrooms, clean by using a paper towel
• 3 cloves of garlic
• A pinch of chilli flakes
• Olive oil for cooking
• 1/4 cup of uncooked quinoa & 1/2 cup of boiling water
• 2 eggs *optional*
• Salt to taste

 Let’s do it:-

(1) Add quinoa and boiling water into a small pot and cook over high heat. When the mixture is boiling, lower the heat to the lowest and let it simmer until the water is almost absorbed by the quinoa. Turn off the heat and let the quinoa sit until water is fully absorbed. (To make salad preparation a bit easier, I prefer this to be done ahead before making the salad.) (2) Finely chop garlic and slice portobello mushrooms. Set aside. (3) Slice the chard and kale. Separate the stalk and the leaves. (4) In a pan over medium heat, add garlic and chilli flakes with some olive oil. (5) When the garlic begins to sizzle, add mushrooms and stir to combine for a minute. Mushrooms tend to absorb oil so add more olive oil to moisten. (6) Add the stalk bits to the mushroom mixture. Cook until the stalk bits are slightly tender. Do this over low heat (7) Add the leaf bits and saute until tender over low heat. Set aside while you start to cook a sunny side up omelette. (8) To serve, spoon the chard-kale mixture onto a plate, followed by quinoa and topped with an omelette.

Note – There’s some water from washing the vegetables and while cooking the mushrooms and chard over low heat, the mushrooms oozed some of their juices.  Therefore, I didn’t need to add water while sauteing the vegetables.