(Vegan) Garden Vegetable Salad

Ben Boeynaems

Ben Boeynaems

11th January 2022
Ben Boeynaems

(Vegan) Garden Vegetable Salad

40 min

A delicious vegan salad that serves four people.

Ingredients

Almond Purée

  • 150g Flaked almonds
  • 300ml Water
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • 5g Agar-agar

Quinoa

  • 100g Quinoa
  • 100ml Water
  • 20g Fine salt

Bulgur

  • 100g bulgur wheat
  • 175ml vegetable stock

Lemon Dressing

  • 10g lemon juice
  • 10g lemon oil
  • 10g olive oil
  • Pinch of Sea salt

Garlic Vinaigrette

  • 1⁄4 raw garlic clove
  • 20g white wine vinegar
  • 10g olive oil
  • Pinch of Sea salt

Mustard Vinaigrette

  • 15g white wine vinegar
  • 30g olive oil
  • 25g rapeseed oil
  • 5g wholegrain mustard

Other

  • 2 Avocados (quartered)
  • 2 cooked beetroots (simply roasted or in mineral water – not vinegar) (Quartered)
  • 1 Tenderstem Broccoli (other seasonal vegetables can be used – eg cavolo nero, asparagus etc – using same methods)
  • 12 Green Beans
  • 1 Baby Gem (quartered
  • 4 Breakfast Radishes (quartered
  • 24 Whole Blanched Almonds
  • 1 Red Endive (separate leaves)

Method

Making the Almond Purée

Make almond juice by blitzing the flaked almonds and water in a food processor for 2 minutes. Pass through a muslin cloth or a fine sieve.
Pass through a muslin cloth or a fine sieve. Bring the juice to the boil with sea salt. Add agar-agar, allow to boil for a further minute, while stirring continuously. Chill until set. Blitz in the food processor until smooth.

Cooking the Quinoa

Rinse the quinoa and then combine it with the 100g water in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat a bit to maintain a gentle simmer.
Cook until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water, about 10 minutes.
Reduce heat as time goes on to maintain a gentle simmer. Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and then let the quinoa steam for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Season with the salt, to taste. Chill.

Cooking the Bulgur

Bring the bulgur wheat to boil in the vegetable stock. Simmer for 10 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. Leave to stand for 10 minutes and chill.

Making the Lemon Dressing

Whisk all the ingredients together.

Mix quinoa and bulgur, dress with half the lemon dressing.

Cooking the green beans

Boil for 3 minutes in salted water. ‘Shock’ in ice water.

Cooking the tenderstem broccoli

Boil for 3 minutes in salted water. ‘Shock’ in ice
water.

Dress the broccoli and green beans in the remainder of the lemon dressing.

Garlic vinaigrette, beetroot & red endive

Blend all the vinaigrette ingredients together, except the oil. Slowly add the oil to emulsify. Dress the beetroot and endive leaves in the vinaigrette.

Mustard vinaigrette & baby gem

Cut baby gem into quarters and set aside.
Whisk all the mustard vinaigrette ingredients together to emulsify the oil.
Dress baby gem in mustard vinaigrette.

Making the blanched almonds

Season with fine salt, toast at 160C for 10 minutes.
Toss regularly to ensure they do not burn.

Assembling each plate

Put a 1⁄4 of the almond purée in the centre of each plate.
Put 1⁄4 avocado on either side.
Fill the gap with a quarter of the quinoa and bulgur mix.
Place 1⁄4 of the baby gem on top of each salad.
Add a quarter of the beetroot and green vegetables on top.
Finish with radish, almonds and a few endive leaves.

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