I don't know about you, but when it gets to autumn, as much as I love bowls of steaming soups and stews, I still need to include salads in my meals. I'm not talking about light leafy salads though, at this time of year salads need to have some substance. So, I've come up with three recipes for hearty autumnal salads using some of my favourite seasonal ingredients.
Quinoa is a fantastic gluten free grain, (technically a seed really) and although I frequently use quinoa flour, it isn't something that I use often enough in its whole form. In this recipe I've combined it with garlicky onions and wilted kale, crunchy apples and kentish cobnuts. Normally, I'd use hazelnuts, but as I had some cobnuts left over from a photo shoot they seem the ideal choice. Use whichever you prefer.
Pumpkins are most definitely one of my staple ingredients at this time of year and they are particularly delicious with spicy, salty chorizo. Lime infused red onions and chillies add some zing to this salad and baby chard leaves bring it all together. I've used chard here because I've got plenty in the garden but spinach would be just as good.
And finally, smoked mackerel, beetroot and red cabbage salad. The bottom layer of this salad is made up of grated raw beetroot, shredded red cabbage and pomegranate seeds with a hint of the Mediterranean spice, sumac. This is followed with a handful of chickpeas and flakes of smoked mackerel all drizzled with a coriander and houmous dressing.
Here are the links to the recipes ...
Pumpkin, Chorizo & Chard Salad
Smoked Mackerel, Beetroot & Red Cabbage Salad
