Quinoa dinner

I really like the nutty flavour of this grain – quinoa – but I only thought to use it as the basis of a meal the other day (when we had eaten pasta too often!). Halfway through cooking, I had the idea that vinegar and honey would complement the flavour of the quinoa, and it worked really well. I added a bit of pomegranate molasses for extra zing (I think lemon juice would work equally well).

The only problem was that I overcooked the quinoa – so don't try and make it look like the picture! I'm also still using up my (wonderful) glut of tomatoes and runner beans, but you could substitute the vegetables with other ones. I think butternut squash and spinach could work really well.

Quinoa dinner

Serves 2

100g quinoa, rinsed

1 tablespoon vegetable stock (such as Boullion)

A handful of cherry tomatoes

6 runner beans

1 yellow or red bell pepper

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses

Cook the quinoa according to the packet instructions (it's available in Waitrose, and don't let it lose its grainy-ness - mine turned into stodge quite quickly!). Add the vegetable stock to the quinoa and water as it's boiling and give it a quick stir. Add the runner beans, tomatoes and bell pepper towards the end of cooking. When the quinoa is cooked (you may have to drain excess water) add the vinegar, honey and pomegranate molasses, and season to taste. Serve hot with bread on the side (the bread in the picture is from a wonderful Turkish deli on Isabella street in Southwark).