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Photograph of Quinoa salad with toasted pistachios, preserved lemons and courgettes.

Middle EasternQuinoa salad with toasted pistachios, preserved lemons and courgettes

Serves 4-6 | Prep 15 mins | Cook 20 mins

Quinoa needs a little help in the flavour department, but it doesn't take a lot of imagination to transform this ancient grain into something more special altogether.

Source: Persiana

Ingredients

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Imperial

x0.5

150 g quinoa
100 g shelled pistachio nuts
olive oil
2 large courgettes, cut into 1 cm thick slices
1 small bunch mint, leaves picked and finely chopped
6-8 preserved lemons, deseeded and finely chopped
juice of ½ lemon
sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
2 heaped tsp nigella seeds

Instructions

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Put the quinoa in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for , then strain and rinse in cold running water until the grains are cold. Allow the excess moisture to drain, then put the quinoa into a large mixing bowl.
In a large frying pan set over a medium heat, toast the pistachio nuts without any oil for just , gently tossing them to ensure they do not blacken too much or burn, then set aside.
Drizzle just the tiniest amount of oil into the same frying pan and fry the courgettes for on each side until they get a good colour on them but are not cooked all the way through. Transfer the slices to a chopping board and chop each slice in half.
Add the courgette to the quinoa along with the chopped mint, preserved lemons, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, the lemon juice and sea salt flakes and black pepper to taste and mix well, Lastly, add the toasted pistachio nuts and the nigella seeds and give the ingredients one final mix. Serve immediately.

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