Serves 4

This salad is packed full of delicious veggies and high-fibre quinoa.
I like to top it with pomegranate seeds for a great burst of flavour. It's the kind of thing I make all the time as it’s just so full of goodness but super satisfying at the same time.

Prep 20 MINS

Cook 25 MINS

LOADS OF VEG

  • 2 sweet potatoes, cut into 2.5cm cubes
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 100g quinoa
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar juice of 1 lime
  • a handful of fresh coriander leaves 1 tub of salad cress
  • 1 bunch of spring onions, thinly sliced
  • 40g mixed sprouts
  • ½ cucumber, diced
  • 1 ripe avocado, peeled, stoned and cut into cubes
  • 1 crisp round lettuce, trimmed and shredded
  • 2 tbsp chilli nuts and seeds (such as Good4U)
  • 100g pomegranate seeds
  • 50g feta cheese
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200°c (400°F/gas mark 6).

Put the sweet potatoes in a roasting tin with the chilli flakes, cumin and cinnamon. drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil and toss until evenly combined. Spread into an even layer and roast for 15 minutes, until tender and just starting to caramelise. remove from the oven and leave to cool a little.

Meanwhile, cook the quinoa in boiling salted water for 15 minutes or according to the packet instructions. drain and rinse well under cold running water.

Put the remaining oil in a bowl with the balsamic vinegar and lime juice. Stir in the quinoa, then tear in the coriander leaves and snip in the cress. Add the spring onions, mixed sprouts, cucumber, avocado and lettuce, stirring to combine. Fold in the roasted sweet potatoes and season with salt and pepper.

to serve, tip out onto a serving bowl. Scatter over the chilli nuts and seeds followed by the pomegranate seeds, then crumble the feta cheese on top.

Smoked Salmon and Prawn Grazing Platter

This Scandinavian-inspired sharing platter is ideal when you want to treat yourself to a special spread but haven’t got much time. I love this on a warm summer evening to eat at leisure in the garden, perhaps with a cheeky glass of rosé for the night that’s in it! Look for seaweed salt – Achill Island makes a lovely one harvested by the Connemara Seaweed Company.

Serves 6–8

prep 35 MINS

cook 20 MINS

LOADS OF VEG

  • 6 eggs
  • 4 bagels
  • 6 slices of rye bread 2 small ripe avocados
  • juice of ½ small lemon 225g smoked salmon strips
  • 300g cooked black tiger prawns
  • 1 x 200g packet of baby cucumbers, thinly sliced
  • 3 tbsp miniature capers, drained and rinsed
  • avocado oil, for drizzling (optional) 2 tbsp seaweed salt
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE PICKLED RED ONIONS

  • 2 small red onions, thinly sliced into rings
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • ½ tsp caster sugar

FOR THE HERBY CREAM CHEESE

  • 150g soft cream cheese finely grated rind and juice of
  • ½ small lemon
  • 20g fresh dill, fronds removed, half chopped
  • 2 tbsp snipped fresh chives 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • TO SERVE
  • lemon wedges (optional)

Put the red onions in a bowl and cover with boiling water for a few minutes, then tip into a sieve to drain. Put back into the bowl with the vinegar, sugar and a good pinch of salt and stir to combine. Set aside until needed.

Put the cream cheese in a bowl with the lemon rind and juice. Add the dill, chives and mustard, season to taste and mix until well combined. this and the pickled red onions can be made in advance and kept covered in the fridge.

When ready to serve, put the eggs into a pan of boiling water and simmer for 8 minutes. drain and cool under cold running water, then crack off the shells. cut in half – the yolks should still be slightly soft.

heat a griddle pan until smoking hot. Quickly char the bagels on both sides, until nicely marked, then toast the rye bread on the hot pan too.

Peel, stone and thinly slice the avocados and drizzle with the lemon juice to prevent them going brown. Arrange on a large chopping board or platter with the smoked salmon and prawns, a bowl of herby cream cheese, the pickled onions, halved eggs and baby cucumbers. Stack up the bagels and rye bread at the back end or on a separate plate. Scatter the capers over the seafood, then add a few dribbles of avocado oil (if using). Season with the seaweed salt and a grinding of black pepper, scatter over the remaining dill and garnish with lemon wedges if liked.