Vegan Recipe: Kitchen by Mike's Beetroot, Quinoa, Rhubarb & Ponzu

If you're looking to add a fresh and flavourful punch - not to mention a splash of colour - to your dining table, this salad from Kitchen by Mike chef Mike McEnearney is the answer to our prayers! 

This seasonal dish is full of colours, textures and it's really simple. A guaranteed crowd pleaser, this vegan and vegetarian dish is the perfect addition to any home chefs repertoire.

• 170g mix of white and red quinoa, rinsed
• 1 bulb fennel, finely sliced
• 1 kg mixed beetroot – baby, golden etc.
• 250g rhubarb, sliced on the diagonal
• ¼ bunch coriander, leaves picked
• ½ bunch watercress, leaves picked
• 100ml extra virgin olive oil

Yuzu ponzu dressing ingredients:

• 125ml ponzu
• 25ml Yuzu juice
• 75ml extra virgin olive oil
• 25ml sesame oil

Note: Yuzu is a Japanese lime that tastes like sour mandarin. If you can't get your hands on fresh or bottled yuzu, you can use lime instead. It will still taste delicious!

1. For the yuzu ponzu dressing, combine all the ingredients in a glass jar and shake well and set aside.
2. Put the quinoa and 375 ml (121/2 fl oz/11/2 cups) water in a saucepan over medium–high heat and bring to the boil.
3. When it starts to boil, turn the heat to the lowest setting and place a lid on the pan.
4. Cook as for steamed rice for 10 minutes then turn off the heat, not opening the lid at all during this time.
5. Leave it resting with the lid on for another 10 minutes.
6. Remove the lid, fluff up the quinoa with a fork and leave to cool.
7. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
8. Toss the beetroot in the olive oil, season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper and place them in a roasting tin.
9. Cover the tin tightly with aluminium foil and bake for 30
   minutes.
10. Remove the tin from the oven and open the foil. Test the smaller beetroot first to see if they are done – they are cooked when the skin rubs off with your finger.
11. Remove any beetroot that are cooked, cover the tin again with the foil and cook for another 15–20 minutes.
12. Test again and remove the beetroot that are ready.
13. When the beetroot are cool, rub the skin off and cut the beetroot into your desired shapes. We suggest you wear gloves for this process or risk having your hands stained pink!
14. Toss the rhubarb in a bowl with the sugar and a pinch of salt and leave for 10 minutes.
15. Arrange the quinoa, beetroot, fennel and rhubarb on a serving platter and garnish with the coriander and watercress. Pour over the dressing, adjust the seasoning and serve

Hey good looking, keen to keep cooking? If you loved this vegan recipe, we've got you covered with an epic range of restaurant recipes including easy vegetarian recipes and crowd-pleasing cocktail recipes!