Quinoa with Herbs and Nasturtium flowers

A take on that most classic of Middle Eastern recipes - tabbouleh - this lush, green, quinoa-based salad brims with vibrancy and freshness. Pistachios provide a welcome crunch and peas, a burst of sweetness. I topped the mix with pretty, peppery nasturtium flowers and some caramelised red onion. We ate it with some hot smoked salmon, a crunchy cauliflower salad and dollop of yoghurt.

Herbs provide the basis for so much of what I cook, lending a freshness and zest to a myriad of recipes, particularly in summer when parsley, mint and basil flourish weed-like in the garden.

Whilst a good balsamic and olive oil dressing is not to be frowned upon, I have included here a recipe for my grandmother’s delicious vinaigrette and the best dressing I have come across. We get through buckets of the stuff; I tend to make a large quantity, which keeps well.

 

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

1 red onion

Olive oil

100g quinoa (cooked and cooled, as per instructions on the pack)

20g (handful) parsley

20g (handful) coriander

20g (handful) mint

20g (handful) basil

10g fresh tarragon

small bunch chives

30g spinach

20g rocket

3 spring onions

150g petits pois

50g shelled, toasted pistachios

Nasturtium flowers (optional)

Yoghurt

Dressing:

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp sea salt

Pepper

1 heaped tsp dijon mustard

½ cup white wine vinegar

1 ½ cups good olive oil

Slice the red onion finely and soften gently in some olive oil until caramelised and golden, season with salt.

Meanwhile, finely chop all of the herbs. Slice roughly the spinach and rocket and chop up the spring onion.

For the dressing:

In a pestle and mortar, pound the peeled cloves of garlic with the sea salt until you have a smooth paste, season with pepper and stir in the Dijon mustard. Combine with the vinegar and then add the olive oil. Whisk it together and taste for seasoning.

Once the quinoa is cooked and cooled, stir all the ingredients together, mix in a few spoonfuls of dressing and top with the caramelised onion.

Cauliflower Salad

Ingredients:

1 small cauliflower

Good handful of parsley

3 spring onions

Salad dressing (recipe above)

Break up the cauliflower into small florets and steam for a few minutes until just cooked, but still retaining some crunch. Set aside.

Finely chop the parsley with the spring onions, sprinkle over the cauliflower and drizzle over some salad dressing. This can be served warm or at room temp.