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Lola's Summer Salad
Our favourite fellow foodie, talented yogi and all-round lifestyle guru, Lola Berry is at it again, with her new book on the way. Lola dropped by Tigerlily HQ to share one of her go-to summer salad recipes with us...
I used to love eating sprouted mung beans when I lived in Queensland and I’d sprout them all the time. In fact, most of the time there would be a little jar of mung bean sprouts on the counter. Since moving to Sydney I was chatting to my hairdresser Josh, turns out he’s a health nerd too and he was telling me how much he loves snacking on mung bean sprouts and this got me thinking, why on earth don’t I eat mung bean sprouts anymore, I mean they’re so nutrient-dense, real cheap and so easy to sprout. If the whole idea of sprouting freaks you out, first of all mung beans are the easiest thing to sprout and secondly, it’s totally fine to buy a punnet of mung bean sprouts from the supermarket. I use store bought mung bean sprouts 80% of the time cos' I just decide on that night that this is what I feel like...
Mung bean and quinoa salad with lime and chillies dressing (vegan)
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
2 cups of sprouted mung beans
1/2 a cup of quinoa, rinsed (any type is fine, I used a combo of all three)
1 small red onion finely cut into rings
1 punnet of cherry toms
1 carrot, grated
6 baby radishes sliced really thin
¼ cup of goji berries
salt and pepper to taste
Dressing:
1 fresh chilli finely chopped (taste if first to see just how hot it is, if it’s a little red on you might only need a quarter)
juice of one fresh lime and zest of one lime
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Method:
How to sprout mung beans:
Get 1 cup of dried mung beans (the quantity will double once sprouted), pop them in a bowl and rinse until the water becomes clear. Then rise one more time and over the mung beans in fresh water, about double the amount of water to mung beans, then let it soak overnight (8-12 hours is great). Then drain that water off and rinse again (this will ensure that you are getting rid of as my phytic acids as possible (and this will make them much easier to digest and sprout). Then I just use a glass jar (some people have actually spouters or use bamboo steamers. So pop your mung beans into a jar and cover the top with a light cloth and sit at room temperature with neutral light. Then each morning and evening I just give them a little rinse and within 2-3 days you can eat your little creations. They then can be kept in the fridge and used in all kinds of salads, wraps, soups even… Again if this isn’t for you, just pop down the street and grab yourself a punnet of mung bean sprouts and tuck into this simple and delish recipe!
Salad time:
Pop your half cup of quinoa on the stove top on a medium-high heat with 1 and ½ cups of water and bring to the boil then lower the heat a tad simmer for around 8 minuets or until you notice the water is all gone and they look like they have little tails. Then let your quinoa cool.
In a big mixing bowl, pop your mung beans, along with your chopped veggies and toss about, then add the goji berries and once the quinoa has cool add that too, mix about and season. Then make your lime and chilli dressing to pour over your creation! Enjoy either as a side or as a full course. Great if you’re vegan, 'cos sprouted mung beans are a rad source of amino acids.