Puy Lentil and Quinoa Sumac Salad

With summer coming to a close, this salad is ideal for the transition into autumn, being fresh and herby yet substantial and filling enough for the colder days to come. Despite containing big bunches of various different herbs, none overpower the dish, and together with the tangy sumac and citrus they manage to uplift the quinoa and Puy lentils - pulses which, lets be honest, can sometimes be lacking in the flavour department. As well as being delicious, this salad is also very nutritious - perfect for those of us who may have over-indulged a little on holiday... The recipe comes from Sabrina Ghayour's debut book Persiana which I found very inspiring and an ideal starting point if you're fairly new to Middle-Eastern cooking. Although it makes a great lunch or light meal by itself, this salad also works well as a side-dish with chicken or fish.

For a large bowl to serve 6-8 you will need…

200g quinoa

250g Puy lentils

500g cherry tomatoes, halved

100g flat leaf parsley, stalks and leaves finely chopped

20g coriander, stalks and leaves finely chopped

40g mint leaves, finely chopped 

1 bunch spring onions, finely sliced

4 tbsp olive oil

Juice of 2 large or 3 small lemons

1 heaped tbsp sumac

Salt & pepper to season

You will need to…

- Cook lentils and quinoa separately as per their packet instructions. Rinse well in cold water then drain and set aside to cool. N.B - When cooking quinoa be sure to toast it in a dry pan before simmering in water, as develops the nutty flavour. See our Quinoa Superfood Salad recipe for more instructions on this.

- Combine all the remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl and season generously with salt and pepper. Add the cooked and cooled quinoa and lentils and mix well to endure everything is evenly coated in the dressing. Be sure to taste your salad and adjust seasonings to suit you.

- Refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving to allow all the flavours to develop.

 Enjoy! C x

A Trip to Turin & Soft Hazelnut Biscuits

Earlier this summer I headed to Italy for a few days to visit a friend ending her year studying abroad in Turin. I completely fell in love with the place, from the delicious food and coffee to the glorious weather and architecture. Keen to take a piece of Italy home to the fam in (then) rainy England, I picked up a bag of authentic-looking biscuits called 'dolcetto morbido alla nocciola' from a delicatessen, however after trying them I soon realised I should have purchased multiple bags - they were seriously good. After a bit of googling it became clear that unless I wanted to pay a small fortune to order them direct from Italy, there was no way of getting them in the UK and so I would have to create my own recipe. The best way of describing them is like a soft amaretti biscuit, but with hazelnuts instead of almonds. The chewy nutty inside is reminiscent of Nutella without the chocolatey-ness - very fitting seeing as Turin is the home of the infamous spread. Anyway, if you are a biscuit or nut-lover, I suggest you give these a go as they are not only quick and easy but a totally delicious and morish teatime snack. I have included some of my touristy snaps of beautiful Turin, however for some more professional photography of the place be sure to check out my friend Mhairi's travel journal HERE - she's a lot more pro with a camera as you will see…

To make 12 larger or 24 little Dolcetto Morbido Alla Nocciola (Soft Hazelnut Biscuits) you will need…

- 100g ground hazelnuts (I blitzed whole hazelnuts, skin on, in a coffee grinder)

- 100g caster sugar

- 1 tbsp plain flour

- A pinch of salt

- 1 large egg white

You will need to…

- Sieve together the ground hazelnuts, sugar, flour and salt in a large bowl.

- Whisk the egg white until almost soft peaks, then stir into the dry ingredients. Knead with your hands until a soft dough comes together.

- Break off small amounts and roll the dough  small balls - dust your hands with icing sugar if it is a bit sticky. Place the balls on a lined baking tray leaving a little space to spread, and press gently to slightly to flatten each one.

- Preheat your oven to 150 C, leaving the biscuits to sit and dry for about 15 minutes whilst the oven warms.

- Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until tops are firm and cracked and the bottoms are a little golden. Leave to cool on the tray for a couple of minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

 Enjoy! C x

Smoked Mackerel and Quinoa Salad

This is a healthy salad which only takes about 20 minutes to make. The smoked mackerel gives a strong flavour to the quinoa, and no extra salt needs to be added as the mackerel provides a strong salty flavour. This recipe would also work with any other fish of your choice. I used the dressing from our Quinoa Superfood Salad to add a lemony flavour which ties the dish together nicely.

To serve 4 you will need...

- 4 smoked mackerel fillets

-2 red peppers

- 200g cherry tomatoes

-250g quinoa

-1 chicken stock cube

-1/2 a pint of water

-Chopped parsley to garnish

For the dressing...

-1 tsp lemon juice

-1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

-1 tsp Dijon mustard

-Seasoning

You will need to...

-Preheat the oven to 180C

- Chop the peppers into strips and half the cherry tomatoes, place in a large baking tray season and drizzle with oil.

- Place the mackerel fillets onto a sheet of tinfoil, squeeze some lemon juice over them, season and wrap in tinfoil, if there is room in the baking tray then place them next to the chopped veg, if not place on a separate baking tray and place in the oven for 10-15 mins.

- Meanwhile place the quinoa in a dry sauce pan and toast on a fairly high heat for a few minutes until golden brown. Keep shaking it around the pan to stop it burning then add 1/2 a pint of chicken stock to the pan.

- Bring to the boil, cover with a lid and simmer for approximately 10 minutes, then remove from heat and leave to steam with the lid on for approximately 5 minutes. Meanwhile remove the mackerel from the oven and check the peppers and tomatoes and cooked, if not turn up the heat and leave the veg in for 5 minutes longer.

-To make the dressing, combine the mustard, oil and lemon juice - season to taste.

- When the veg is done place quinoa in the middle of your serving dish surround with the roasted tomatoes and peppers, then peel the skin away from the mackerel, this should be easy when the fish is hot. Break the mackerel up removing any bones you come across and mix into the quinoa. Add the dressing and scatter with chopped parsley.

Enjoy! Z x