Moroccan salad with sweet potato, butter beans & preserved lemon

This is a recipe I make regularly on weekends as part of my meal prep for the week ahead. We will either add it to an easy dinner like fish or steak, and then also have enough for lunches with canned tuna or sardines added to it.

This salad is loosely based off one of the Community salads but made gluten-free and easier on the gut for my fellow IBS sufferers. I like to use tri-colour quinoa for this recipe and I always soak it before I cook it to improve digestion, from anywhere to 1 hour to 4 hours before the meal (it depends how organised I am!). You could substitute the quinoa for another desired choice of grain such a brown rice.

This recipe serves 4-5.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 sweet potatoes, cut into small cubes

• 2-3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

• sea salt and black pepper

• 1.5-2 cups of quinoa - soaked to improve digestion

• 2 tsp of vegetable or chicken stock concentrate - I use Urban Forager

• 2.5 - 3 cups of water

• 1 can of butter or cannellini beans - drained and well washed (look for organic and BPA-free cans)

• 1 tbsp of preserved lemon - finely chopped

• 1/2 cup of almonds, lightly toasted then chopped into smaller pieces (alternatively you could use flaked almonds)

Chermoula - marinade

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 2 tsp ground cumin

• 2 tsp paprika

• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

• Juice and zest of 1 small lemon

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped

• 1/3 cup coriander leaves, finely chopped

Method

• Preheat oven to 200°C

• Toss chopped sweet potatoes with 2 tbsp of olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast on a baking tray until tender, about 20 minutes.

• To make chermoula - mix garlic, cumin, paprika, cayenne, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt. Transfer to a small bowl, whisk in olive oil and combine well. Stir in parsley and coriander. You can also mix all the ingredients into a food processor to do this.

• Add quinoa to a small pot and add in water and stock concentrate. Cover the pot, bring it to boil on the stove top, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Once quinoa is cooked, leave the pot on the stock top covered. After 5-10 minutes, use a fork to fluff up the quinoa.

• In a large salad serving bowl, combine the roasted sweet potato, cooked quinoa, beans, preserved lemon and gently fold through the chermoula. Sprinkle over toasted almonds and enjoy!