I only discovered this wondrous grain last year (although it is actually a seed) and one of the things I love about it is that it is ready to eat with minimal cooking. It's a godsend for us vegans, you will probably all agree. Not only is it delicious, filling and versatile, but it is packed with protein (a complete protein, all 8 amino acids) and a lot of other nutrients. The main ingredients of this, besides the quinoa itself, are cashews, spring onions and herbs, which all work together really well. This is one of my favourite dishes, as it tastes delectable either hot or cold: you can cook it for dinner, and then save some and eat it cold the next day as a salad, as I often do. The salad version is nice served with some lemon wedges and a  drizzle of olive oil.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

1½ cups quinoa

1 cup cashew nuts *

2 courgettes/zucchini

Bunch of scallions/spring onions

Small bunch of fresh thyme

Small bunch of fresh parsley

1-2 tbsp olive oil

Sea salt

White and black pepper

Method

1) Allow between 60-80g quinoa( dry weight) per person. Rinse thoroughly and add to twice its volume of boiling salted water. Cook over a moderate heat until the white germ separates (around 10 minutes). Remove from heat, cover and leave to absorb the remaining water.

2) Whilst the quinoa is cooking, wash the onions and chop them into small pieces.

3) Scrub the courgettes, remove the ends and chop into small chunks.

4) Toast the nuts for a few minutes in a dry pan (do this over a low heat, and keep an eye on them, as they burn easily!)

5) Fry the courgettes and onions in the olive oil, stirring continuously.

6) When the vegetables are well-cooked, add the quinoa, nuts and a teaspoon or two of finely-chopped thyme.

7) Add salt and pepper and mix until quinoa has absorbed all the moisture.

8) Garnish with fresh parsley and serve hot or cold. Enjoy!

* Variation: you could also use almonds or pine-nuts, for example, in place of cashews, which I think would work equally well.