Cornersmith: Salads & Pickles: Vegetables with more taste & less waste

From the Publisher

Broad Bean & Pea Salad With Freekeh & Yoghurt Sauce

When it’s broad bean and pea season, you should eat them every day! This salad stars freekeh, a delicious, highly nutritious grain made from roasted green (early harvest) wheat. If you can’t obtain it, use barley, spelt or other grains instead. This salad looks great on a large flat platter. You could also double the quantity and take it to a barbecue or picnic.

Plum & Ginger Chutney

This chutney is a good one to make at the end of plum season, when there’s an abundance of cheap, delicious plums around. We also use this recipe for summer stone fruits – peaches, nectarines and apricots all make yummy chutneys. You can use apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar if you prefer; just remember your vinegars need to be 5% acidity or more for preserving.

Bitter Winter Leaves With Fennel & Roasted Pear

Many wintery leaves are on the bitter end of the flavor spectrum. In our experience, some people are a little prejudiced against bitter flavors, so at our cafes we try to keep integrating these into our winter menus, by counteracting the bitterness with an element of sweetness. This is how the idea for this salad came together. It has a great balance of wintery bitter leaves, sweetness from the pears and the anise flavor of the fennel. Try it with a dollop of ricotta.

Fig & Herb Salad With Pearl Couscous, Toasted Hazelnuts & Za’atar

This salad features heavily in our obsessive fig-eating mission over the summer months. It works as a light summer meal on its own, or as a side dish. Pearl couscous, also known as Israeli couscous, has a nuttier flavour and more pronounced texture than regular couscous, its much smaller cousin. Za’atar is a fragrant Middle Eastern spice mix based on dried thyme and sumac. Its ‘zing’ and freshness complement the sweetness of the figs really well. You’ll find it in Middle Eastern grocery stores, spice shops and well-stocked supermarkets – or you could experiment with making your own.

Grilled Pineapple, Sea Salt, Chilli, Mint & Chimichurri

Preparation Time 15 Minutes Cooking Time 20 Minutes Serves 4

Grilled pineapple is so delicious! Its sweet acidity balances out the salt and chilli in this summery savoury fruit salad. It is refreshing on its own, but also pairs well with grilled meat or fatty fish. Another great use for the Chimichurri recipe on page 37.

Heat a barbecue to medium–low. Grill the pineapple quarters on the barbecue for about 10–15 minutes, turning now and then, until evenly coloured on all sides.

Cut the charred pineapple pieces into bite-sized pieces and place on a serving plate.

Sprinkle with the sea salt, drizzle with the chimichurri dressing, olive oil and citrus juice, then finish with a scattering of chilli and mint.

Tip

Use the pineapple skins to make a syrup. Make a base sugar syrup, from the Summer Fruit with Mint Stem Syrup recipe; a triple quantity should be enough. When you put the syrup ingredients on the stove, add the finely chopped skins and cores of the pineapple and some spices such as cloves, allspice berries and peppercorns.

Simmer over very low heat for 20–30 minutes, then strain out the skins, cores and spices. Check the consistency, and put the syrup back on the stove to reduce further if needed. It will keep in a clean container in the fridge for at least 4 weeks.

1 pineapple, about 1.5 kg (3 lb 5 oz), cut into quarters, skin and core removed (see tip)

Pinch of sea salt

2 teaspoons Chimichurri dressing (see page 37)

Olive oil, for drizzling

Juice of 1–2 limes or lemons

½ small red chilli, cut into very thin slices

6–8 mint leaves, torn into pieces just before serving