Fennel and Quinoa Salad with Herbs

Looking for a recipe yesterday to help use up our glut of herbs and chillies, I came across this vegetarian dish, devised by Yotam Ottolenghi. I replaced the limes with lemons as we always have plenty of those, and didn't add any extra salt near the end. It was absolutely delish!


4 servings:

About 70ml olive oil
3 medium fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
1 tbsp caster sugar
3 tbsp cider vinegar
Salt and black pepper
150g quinoa
300g broad beans (fresh or frozen)
1 green chilli, deseeded and chopped
1½ tsp ground cumin
25g chopped mint
25g chopped coriander
25g chopped dill
3 limes or 2 small lemons

1. Pour 50ml oil into a large sauté pan, add the fennel and cook on low-medium heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and soft. Add the sugar, vinegar and some salt, and cook, stirring, for two minutes, then move pan from heat.
2. Add the quinoa to a pan of boiling water and simmer for 8-10 minutes. (It should still have some bite.) Drain into a fine sieve, run under cold water, shake to remove excess liquid and add to the fennel.
3. Add the broad beans to a pan of boiling water, cook for one minute, drain and refresh under cold running water. Press beans gently to remove leathery skins, then stir into the quinoa and fennel mixture, with the chilli, cumin and herbs. Season with black pepper and salt if desired.
4. Using a small, sharp knife, trim off the tops and tails of the limes or lemons. Remove the skin and white pith. Over a bowl to catch any juice, remove the segments from each lime or lemon by slicing between the membranes. Cut each segment into three and, with the juice, add to the quinoa salad.
5. Add the remaining olive oil and taste, adjusting the seasoning as necessary and possibly adding a little more olive oil if it seems a bit dry.