Salads,Savoury Borani-e-labu is a Persian beet and yoghurt salad, and I’ve taken some inspiration from  there for the Persian Cucumber Salad but besides the existence of beets and Greek yoghurt, there’s fairly little in common. I’ve done a similar version before in Beet Carpaccio – a richer Persian version of the dish with the inclusion of buffalo mozzarella pieces. Today, I lighten (read: diet) it up with smears of thick Greek yoghurt and a variety of ‘bird food’ (read: seeds, nuts…) but I promise, it’s a real treat without the foreboding sense of diet food. The layers of texture with pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, hemp seeds, bee pollen and pistachios, along with the freshness of parsley work brilliantly against the rush of sourness from Malta orange zest. And the beauty of this dish is that it brings out the artist in you – it’s a dish that’s not just appealing to the waistline, but to the eye as well. The Recipe Serves 2 Ingredients 150 g Plain Greek Yoghurt 1 Boiled and Sliced Beet Fresh Parsley 2 tsp Bee Pollen 2 tsp Pine Nuts 2 tsp Hemp Seeds 2 tsp Pumpkin Seeds 2 tbsp Chopped Pistachios 1 tsp Orange zest 1 tsp Pink Peppercorns Sea Salt Extra Virgin Olive Oil Instructions Spread the Greek yoghurt on a serving plate Place the beets on top Sprinkle all the remaining ingredients on top.

Salads,Savoury Ginger – an ingredient I fall in love with more, with each passing day. As a kid, I ran quickly and far – associating it with a gross concoction forced down my throat. But now I look for ginger almost everywhere. Apart from the superb antioxidant and healing properties that my body very much requires – I find it a versatile ingredient to play with – a simple stir fry with more aromatics, or playing the main role to flavour fresh tomatoes on a toast. It complements a citrus dessert, just as well as dark chocolate and cream. There is something so darn attractive about this malleable feature. So, here I go overboard – add a nice chunk into the pot of wild rice while it cooks. A trick to enhance the flavour – cut lengthwise into medium strips, place into a mortar and pestle and give a few hits to juice up and then throw into the boiling rice water. I then, add more fresh ginger into roasting pumpkin and pomegranates. You end up with this lovely baked and thickened and juicened up melange of flavours that is tossed with wild black rice and fresh bursts of green parsley leaves! This makes for a meal in itself, or a side salad or a great tiffin – that I hide and bring to my workplace! The Recipe Serves Ingredients 1 cup wild rice, cooked with few pieces of ginger 1 inch piece ginger, peeled (if uncooked rice) 1 tsp grated ginger ½ cup pumpkin, cubed 1/3 cup pomegranates, divided olive oil for brushing ½ tsp pepper ½ tsp sea salt handful of fresh parsley, chopped Instructions RICE: cook the rice as per it's instruction, adding the piece of ginger into the water when cooking. Remove the ginger after cooked. Preheat the oven at 200C Prepare the baking tray with parchment or brush with olive oil Add the pumpkin cubes, and half the pomegranates with grated ginger, salt and pepper and toss with a very small drizzle of olive oil Roast for 20 minutes, or until the pumpkin is roasted through, but holds its shape Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before tossing into the rice with remaining pomegranate and fresh parsley Eat warm. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge and eaten as a salad for the next day

Savoury A delicious, mouthwatering spaghetti dish with just 5 ingredients is what I recommend for days that don’t make any sense. There is so much simplicity in this recipe with just a few steps – however, this recipe requires precision. Nothing too difficult, but a few tips and tricks here, will ensure that you’ve got a fabulous carb-ilicious dish. The first rule is the olive oil. I use extra virgin olive oil for the cooking as well – because this spaghetti’s main taste is the olive oil itself. The better the flavor and quality, the better your pasta dish will be. Then there is the garlic – you need to slice them like mini chips and add it into cold extra virgin olive oil and let them heat together in the pan. Of course, there’s no rule on how the garlic must be cut – it can be minced or crushed as well – but whatever it is, keep an eye on it in the olive oil – the smaller the cut, the quicker the burn! Once the garlic just starts to brown, add the chilli flakes – and this is the beauty – the oil will turn a lovely hue of red telling you, you’ve got it all right! Immediately add the spaghetti, and a bit of the water if you require and toss with tongs to coat with the sauce. Turn off the heat, and add the finely chopped parsley and salt. Adding a good amount of cheese at this point is great while you toss the pasta, so the sauce will slightly emulsify. It is essential for the garlic to cook perfectly and adequate amount of olive oil for this to be a really good dish. This is one of the pasta dishes where the spaghetti absolutely must be cooked al dente (no room for negotiation) and timing is extremely important. The spaghetti must be boiled beforehand as well. Check out the video tutorial: here Other related reads: PASTA COOKING 1O1 The Recipe Serves 2 Ingredients Handful of spaghetti, cooked al dente (100-150g) (amazon link) A few spoons of the pasta water 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp garlic, sliced 1 tsp red chili flakes ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped ½ tsp salt ¼ cup Parmesan cheese Instructions Heat olive oil in a medium pan with garlic slices (add the garlic to the cold olive oil) Cook on low temperature, until garlic just begins to turn brown Add the chili flakes, spaghetti and salt and toss together Turn the heat off, stir in the fresh parsley leaves and a few spoons of the pasta water if you feel so and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and stir to emulsify the sauce Remove to plate and generously grate parmesan cheese Eat immediately

Old Recipe Salad,Savoury   Many are still recovering from the excess celebrations, and the promised commitment to a healthier lifestyle made last week is finding a tough way to appear itself. After gorging on all that candy cane, lovely cakes and maybe even some bubbly, its time to get back to routine, good eating and disciplined work outs. I know it’s hard, but this can be fixed with this tempting plate of beetroot salad, counting as a one-plate meal with all the right nutritional values. More so, it’s easy on the eyes and is an exotic touch to the usual beetroot options. These beets are thinly sliced, roasted in some orange juice and olive oil, and then arranged with an abundance of fresh leafy parsley and mint, and some fleshy mozzarella with the sourness of za’atar. For the crunch we add some pistachios! Most beet salads are paired with feta or blue cheese, but here I use bocconcini mozzarella. Feta and blue cheese tend to be more overpowering than the milder mozzarella and allows the za’atar to take centre stage. A snapshot of 2016 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KboFtZDUuT8 [yumprint-recipe id=’112′] The Recipe Serves Serves: 4 | Prep Time: 20 mins | Cook Time: 30 mins Ingredients 2 beets, peeled and sliced ¼ cup orange juice 2 tsp olive oil ½ cup fresh parsley ¼ cup fresh mint leaves Fresh mozzarella or bocconcini 4 tsp extra virgin olive oil 3 tsp za’atar Chopped pistachios Instructions Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place the beets on a baking tray and drizzle the orange juice and olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover with a foil. Bake for 30 minutes, or until they are well roasted (this can be done beforehand). Stir the za’atar and extra virgin olive oil to create a runny paste. On a serving dish place the parsley at the bottom. Then arrange the cooled down beets on top. Place the fresh burrata or mozzarella cheese on top. Drizzle the za’atar paste on top and the chopped pistachios.

Old Recipe Salad,Salads,Savoury Parsley - the jewel of herbs, both in the pot and on the plate.-- Albert Stokli" A friend of mine has a beautiful patch of vegetables, fruits and herbs. Home grown, organic and fresh from the garden – what more can you possibly want? She grows all kinds of herbs, various fruits like bananas, strawberries and mulberries, baby tomatoes, spinach…Every time I meet her, I plan to grow my own vegetable patch, but recall when I tried last year – my two dogs peed on each herb, the peacocks ate the buds, and I over-watered them! I am a disaster when it comes to gardening, and I now believe I should leave this part to the pros.When she gave me a nice handful of freshly cut parsley, I knew a tabouleh was in order. They were freshly picked, smelled amazing, and were a healthy green colour.A luscious green salad, with wonderful citrus notes, and healthy bulgur wheat bits – and it’s extremely simple to make as well!Finely chop up parsley, a few tomatoes, mint, and a simple dressing of lemon, olive oil, garlic and salt. Add in some cooked bulgur wheat (as simple as pouring in some boiling water, cover for a while, and that’s it).It’s great compliment to a falafel, mezze platter, or simply a side salad to a bigger meal. For non-vegetarians I could recommend as a side to grilled fish in a lemon butter sauce with capers. About This portion is enough for one. It is essential to get good quality fresh parsley to make a stellar tabouleh. The Recipe Serves Serves: 1 | Prep Time: 30 mins | Cook Time: 10 mins Ingredients Salad: 1 cup fresh parsley ¼ cup fresh mint 1 ½ tomato, finely chopped 1 spring onion, finely chopped ½ cup bulgur wheat (fada) Pinch of salt Dressing: 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced Juice of 1 lemon Salt + Pepper Instructions Pour in boiling water into the bowl of bulgur wheat. The boiling water should just cover the grains. Add salt. Cover and leave for 5-10 minutes, or until cooked. Uncover and lightly graze with a fork. Remove excess water. Finely chop the parsley and mint. Combine with the chopped tomatoes and spring onions. Stir in the bulgur wheat. Dressing: Combine all the ingredients and mix well. Pour into the salad before serving.