Recipe: Megan Priscott | Images: Brydie Thompson
You can really adapt this salad to use what’s available in the garden. I chose the ingredients below as they are usually all abundant in my garden at the same time. With this in mind, courgettes are a great addition or substitute. You can also swap the freekeh for quinoa to make it grain free. Top it with watercress and you have a meal, although we love it with roast chicken.
1½ cups grain (freekeh, farro)
2 red capsicums
2 eggplant
1 fennel bulb
2 cloves garlic crushed
juice & zest of 3 lemons
¼ cup parsley
basil leaves
¼ cup mint
¼ cup olives
⅓ cup hazelnuts or pistachios, toasted
6 carrots
1 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp honey
olive oil
Cook freekeh or farro with plenty of boiling water until tender. Cool, drain and set aside.
Cut the eggplant and red capsicum into 2cm cubes, toss with garlic, olive oil and salt and roast at 180°C until tender and broken around the edges.
Peel and cut carrots into quarters lengthways, toss with cumin seeds, honey and olive oil and roast.
Finely slice the fennel on a mandolin.
Combine the freekeh with the prepared vegetables along with the herbs, lemon, olives, salt and pepper. Top with toasted nuts.
Note: I use Al Brown’s Lemon and Fennel Olive Oil, it just adds another flavour dimension and keeps it interesting
Megan Priscott
www.redkitchen.co.nz
Megan is mum to Lily, Lennox and Lincoln. Along with husband Mathew she owns and manages RedKitchen in Te Awamutu. Megan loves good food and wine and holidays with the family. Whangamata is their favourite spot where Megan says a huge paella on the beach is the perfect way to finish a summer’s day.
