I put together this salad a couple of years ago for Iron Awareness Week. I'm not normally adventurous enough to add fruit to a savoury salad, but the juicy orange segments pair well with the beef, and pairing a vitamin C-rich food alongside iron-rich foods (including leafy greens) can help you absorb more iron.
You'll Need:
¼ cup dry quinoa
1 medium orange, peeled and cut into segments
5-6 cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup baby spinach
100g beef fillet
¼ cup red capsicum, deseeded and sliced
¼ cup cucumber, sliced
a few slices of red onion (optional)
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon sumac
¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper
Method:
Cook quinoa as per packet instructions (normally 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa, boiled for around 10-15 minutes). Once cooked, drain and cool.
Heat a little olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Combine salt, pepper and sumac, and coat beef. When pan is hot, add beef and cook for about 3 minutes, before turning and cooking 1-2 minutes until nicely seared. Remove from heat and leave to rest.
Add vegetables in a bowl and toss to roughly combine. Place quinoa on a plate, then top with vegetables. Slice beef and arrange over salad.
Combine mustard, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste, then drizzle over salad.
Makes 1 Serve