Quinoa, prawn and mango salad – seductive treat!

Quinoa, prawn and mango salad from the Hairy Dieters is one of the more expensive healthy eating recipes I’ve made, but it’s an absolute treat to devour and so worth the extra cost and effort. The marinated prawns and mango are a match made in heaven, you get the ‘nuttyness’ from the quinoa and the zing and heat from the mango chilli dressing. This is one seductive salad!

You might be tempted to ‘double up’ as this is only 200 calories per serving, however I recommend you don’t as one portion is more than filling enough. Diet or no diet, this colourful, flavoursome lunch packs a brilliant punch.

Recipe: Quinoa, prawn and mango salad

Calories: 200 calories per serving

Serves: 4

Book: Hairy Dieters – Fast Food

Prep time: Approx 20 mins

Cooking time: Approx 25 mins

Ingredients: 100g quinoa, 200ml hot vegetable or chicken stock or water, 1 tsp olive oil, grated zest of 1 lime, 2 garlic cloves (crushed), 400g raw king prawns (shelled), 1 mango, 1 red chilli (deseeded and roughly chopped), 5g fresh root ginger (roughly chopped), 1 tsp white wine vinegar, juice of 1 lime, 200g salad leaves such as rocket, baby spinach or lamb’s lettuce, 4 spring onions (cut into 2cm diagonal slices), small bunch of coriander (leaves only), a few basil leaves, flaked sea salt, ground black pepper

Cost per portion: Approx £3.07

Method: Rinse the quinoa thoroughly under running water, then drain it well. Put the quinoa in a saucepan and cook it over a medium heat for a minute to help develop a nutty flavour, then pour over the stock or water. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the liquid to the boil, then cover the pan and turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and leave the quinoa to stand for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and leave to cool for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, get on with the rest of the salad. Place a griddle on the hob to heat up. Put the olive oil in a bowl with the lime zest and add the crushed garlic. Add the prawns and season them with salt and pepper, then leave them to marinate and absorb the flavours for 5 minutes. By then, the griddle should be good and hot so cook the prawns for a minute or so on each side until they are pink. Set them aside.

Peel the mango. Cut half the flesh into strips or cubes for the salad and set them aside. Put the rest of the flesh into a blender or food processor, squeezing the big seed between your hands to get any further juice. Add the chilli and ginger to the blender, together with the white wine vinegar and lime juice, then season with salt and pepper. Blitz until smooth to make the dressing.

To serve, arrange the salad leaves on a large platter and sprinkle the quinoa on top. Add the spring onions and half the herbs, then top with the reserved mango and griddled prawns. Drizzle over the mango and chilli dressing, sprinkle with the rest of the herbs and serve immediately.