quinoa herb tabbouleh with salmon & cauliflower

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. v good.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

1 red onion 

Olive oil

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

1 small cauliflower

Couple of handfuls of any herbs you have, I used a handful (around 20g) each of parsley, coriander, mint, basil

30g spinach

20g rocket

3 spring onions (if you soak these before they lose some of their astringency)

150g peas

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 or lemon juice

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.

Cook the quinoa as per instructions on pack, leave to cool. Break the cauliflower into florets and steam until just cooked, and still retaining some crunch.

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

Stir all the ingredients together, mix in a few spoonfuls of dressing and top with the caramelised onion. Add hot smoked salmon, if wanted.

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.