Fig, walnut & spelt warm salad
A warm, colourful salad, with a classic pairing of sweet figs and toasted walnuts. Seasonal kale and nutty tasting spelt are mixed through, and everything is brought together with a simple dressing.
Ingredients
- 125g pearled spelt
- 1 tsp bouillon powder
- 1 sweet potato
- 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
- 50g walnuts
- 4 figs
- 10g parsley
- 1 tin cannellini beans
- 1 garlic clove
- 200g kale
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 lemon
Method
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Step 1
Preheat oven to 190°C/Gas 5. Rinse the spelt in a sieve. Transfer to a medium saucepan with the bouillon. Add 500ml boiled water, season and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 23-25 mins, until tender.
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Step 2
Peel the sweet potato, quarter lengthways and slice into thin pieces (1cm). Toss in a roasting tray with enough oil to coat. Season. Roast for 15 mins.
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Step 3
Meanwhile, in a frying pan, gently toast the pumpkin seeds and walnuts together, until they both start to darken. Transfer to a chopping board and roughly chop. Halve the figs.
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Step 4
Finely chop the parsley. Drain and rinse the cannellini beans. Peel and slice the garlic into thin slivers. Wash the kale; strip away any thick stalks and roughly chop the leaves.
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Step 5
In a large bowl, mix 3 tbsp of olive oil with the mustard and vinegar and season, to make a dressing.
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Step 6
After 15 mins, turn the sweet potato slices over and add the figs to the tray. Drizzle over a little more oil. Roast for a further 10 mins.
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Step 7
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan. Gently fry the garlic for 1 min until golden. Add the kale. Stir-fry for 3-4 mins, until wilted. Toss the kale in the dressing. Cover with a plate to keep warm.
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Step 8
Drain off any excess liquid from the cooked spelt. Into the kale, mix the spelt, sweet potato, parsley and cannellini beans. Check the seasoning. Add a squeeze of lemon, to taste. Serve topped with figs, pumpkin seeds and walnuts.