This recipe was inspired by a night of reminiscing (read: being made fun of) about my post-university culinary repertoire. My statement dish was a chicken stir fry. Actually, it was my only dish. I used to eat out A LOT, and when I didn’t, this was my go-to dinner.

It’s a good thing Mr H likes chicken, because it’s about all I could rustle up when we started going out six years ago (and if you ask him about my cooking back in the day he will MOST DEFINITELY tell you about the time I dropped a whole pot of white pepper into one such stir fry, attempted to scrape it off and then stubbornly refused to admit that it had rendered all the food inedible so proceeded to eat it to prove a point, red-faced and nose streaming). My mother will also tell you how uninterested I was in cooking despite her best efforts to show me a thing or two in the kitchen.

But it all changed when, five years ago, I had some food tests done which alerted me to the fact that I was intolerant to yeast and sugar. I had to cut a bunch of foods out my diet and went on a month long cleanse to get my body back in balance. I pored over recipe websites each day in my lunch break, and experimented in the kitchen each evening. I started to love cooking delicious, healthy food and felt so much better for it too.

These days, I wouldn’t touch the supermarket egg noodles and ready-made sauces of my yester-year with a barge pole, but I still love a good stir fry every now and then, so I’ve  given my old recipe a makeover, and it’s even better than I remember.

Instead of noodles, this recipe uses carrot and courgette ribbons for a much healthier and lighter twist. The quinoa gives it a deliciously nutty crunch, and makes for a super filling dinner. The sesame oil, garlic, ginger and tamari work together to give this dish the most beautiful and aromatic flavour. It’s so simple (as any stir fry should be) but so incredibly tasty. If you fancy adding in some extra protein, try it with edamame beans, chicken or prawns – yum!

Ingredients

• 1 courgette
• 1 carrot
• 1 red onion
• 1 red pepper
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 clove garlic,
• 1 tsp ginger
• 2 tbsp tamari (or soy sauce)

Boil the quinoa in a saucepan for 12 minutes until cooked. While the quinoa is cooking, peel the courgette and carrot into ribbons (I use a peeler which takes slightly longer but you can use a spiraliser if you’re pushed for time), and chop the onion, red pepper up small.

Finely chop the garlic and ginger and pop them in a frying pan along with the sesame oil and tamari. Lightly fry for a minute or so, then add in the onion and red pepper, stirring occasionally to make sure they cook nice and evenly. After they have softened, add in the courgette, carrot and quinoa and stir for a minute or so until everything is mixed together nicely – then you’re ready to serve!

Love, Mrs H xx