Great Spring Salads To Try This Season

Rinse the freekeh and cover with 400ml of water and half a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover with a lid, reduce to a low simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes, until softened. Once cooked, drain any remaining water and set aside to cool.

Peel and discard as much of the tough skin from the broccoli stalk as you can, then grate the whole broccoli on the coarse side of a box grater (alternatively finely chop it with a sharp knife or use a food processor). Add to a large mixing bowl along with the freekeh, chickpeas and mint and toss to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, maple, sumac, peanut butter, and 1.5 teaspoons of salt. Stir in the onion and goji berries and set aside for 10 minutes to soften, then add two thirds of the dressing to the broccoli and toss to combine.

To serve, transfer the broccoli to a serving platter and drizzle over the remaining dressing.

Place a small frying with the oil on medium heat. Once hot, add in the peanuts and fry for 4-6 minutes, until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on kitchen paper, scatter over some salt and set aside to cool. Keep the oil in the pan, off the heat.

Meanwhile, rehydrate the wakame in boiling water for 3 minutes, then drain and run under cold water to cool. Squeeze out all the water and set aside until needed.

In a large bowl, whisk all the dressing ingredients together, along with 3 tablespoons of the oil from the peanuts and half a teaspoon of salt. Add the wakame, mix really well, then add in the cabbage and carrots and toss together.

To assemble, place one third of the slaw onto a serving platter, scatter over some of the peanuts, chillies and basil. Repeat twice more and then drizzle over the remaining oil from the peanuts. Just before eating, crumble some of the seaweed sheets on top, adding more as you eat, for the crispy texture.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Combine the carrots, 2 tablespoons of oil, paprika, cumin and 1.5 teaspoons of salt on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Roast for 35 minutes, stirring once, until starting to char around the edges.

At the same time, toast the walnuts on a small tray in the oven for 5-8 minutes, then roughly chop.

Meanwhile, make the herby pickled onions. In a small bowl, toss together the onion, chili, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon of salt and set aside for 15-20 minutes, until slightly softened, then add about a third of the herbs.

For the date dressing, trim the ends off the whole lemon, carefully slice off and discard the peel and pith, then roughly chop the lemon flesh, removing any pips. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium frying pan on a low heat, then add the baharat, dates, chopped lemon, aleppo and a teaspoon of salt. Cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the dates have softened and the flavours have melded together. Remove from the heat, stir through a tablespoon of lemon juice and the date syrup and transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add the carrots, walnuts and remaining herbs and gently mix to combine.

To serve, spoon the carrots onto a platter and top with the herby pickled onions.