Quinoa Balls on Tomato Salad

Ingredients

• 250 g quinoa
• Salt
• 2 handfuls mixed baby salad mix (e.g., spinach, beet greens, frisée)
• 5 tomatoes
• 50 g black olives (pitted)
• 1 sardine (in oil)
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 Shallot
• 1 Garlic clove
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp freshly chopped herbs
• 4 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan
• 150 g breadcrumbs
• pepper (ground)
• vegetable oil (for frying)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

1. 1.

   Rinse the quinoa hot and let it soak in about 750 ml boiling salted water for 15-20 minutes over low heat. Drain if necessary and cool.

2. 2.

   Meanwhile wash, trim, clean and dry the salad. Wash the tomatoes, remove stems and slice thinly. Finely chop the olives with the sardine using a food processor. Mix in 1 tbsp oil and let sit.

3. 3.

   Peel and finely chop the shallot and garlic; sauté in 1 tbsp hot oil until translucent. Remove and add to the quinoa. Add the egg, herbs, parmesan and breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. If needed, knead in more breadcrumbs so the mixture is firm enough to shape. With damp hands form small balls and fry in hot vegetable oil (≈170 °C) for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

4. 4.

   Arrange tomato slices on plates and spread tapenade over them. Mix remaining oil with lemon juice and drizzle over the salad. Optionally briefly fry a few salad leaves. Arrange the salad and balls on a plate and serve immediately.