LIFE & CULTURE

Ancient Grain Seven Vegetable Superfood Salad

Melbourne chef Paul Wilson shares one of his favourite feelgood Mexican recipes - with a modern twist
Chris Middleton
4 - 6
45M

Ingredients

Salad65g farro, rinsed100g mixed quinoa (red, black and white), soaked in cold water for 30 minutes, drained and rinsed100g broccolini100g kale, stripped from the stem2 tbsps olive oil100g butternut squash, finely diced100g fresh or frozen corn kernels80g fresh or frozen peas30g pumpkin seeds (or pepitas)30g sunflower seeds30g chia seeds150g salted ricotta, finely chopped seeds of 1/2 pomegranate90g canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed1/2 red onion, finely chopped1 large handful oregano leaves, roughly chopped1 small handful flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped1 jalapeno, de-seeded and finely choppededible flowers to garnishLatin vinaigrette80ml sweet sherry60ml sherry vinegar1 tsp smoked paprika1/2 tsp chilli powderground black pepper, to taste150ml extra-virgin olive oil80ml sesame oil1 large handful oregano leaves, finely chopped1 tsp sea salt

Method

1.

To make vinaigrette, combine sherry, vinegar and spices in a small saucepan and bring to boil. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.



2. Continuously whisking, gradually add the oils, one at a time, to the vinegar mixture, until emulsified. Stir in oregano and sea salt.



3. Cook farro in a saucepan of boiling water for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Drain and rise.



4. Place quinoa in a saucepan, add 1 1/4 cups water and bring to the boil. Reduce and simmer for 10 minutes. Cover and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes. Remove quinoa from heat and set aside, with the saucepan lid on, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and leave to cool.



5. Cook broccolini and kale in a saucepan of boiling water for 1-2 minutes, or until tender. Drain and refresh in a bowl of iced water, then roughly chop.



6. Heat oil in a fry-pan over a medium heat. Add pumpkin and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until just tender. Add corn and peas and cook for 2 minutes. Set aside to cool.



7. Combine pepitas, sunflower and chia seeds in a fry-pan and cook over a medium-low heat, tossing frequently until lightly toasted.



8. Combine farro, quinoa, broccolini, kale, pumpkin, corn, peas and seeds in a large bowl. Add ricotta, pomegranate, chickpeas, onion, herbs and jalapeno and stir. Pour over 150ml of the vinaigrette and toss. Season with salt and pepper, transfer to a bowl and serve with edible flowers.



Note: For summer, add cherry tomatoes, grilled eggplant and zucchini.


Extracted from Taqueria by Paul Wilson (Hardie Grant Books, $40) 

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