With summer comes fresh herbs and I found myself one day, amid a leafy mountain of other fresh herbs, with a massive bunch of dill. It smelled so good at the supermarket I just couldn’t resist but now what? Pickles were as deep as my dill repertoire went. No ideas meant I had a clean slate though and, on a whim, I decided to blitz a whole bunch to make a dressing. It worked. Big time. We were way passed pickles.
Light, fresh, summery and green, this dill salad is packed with nutrients and is the perfect meal to eat when it’s too hot to eat. Hemp seeds are a great addition to this salad, as are sunflower and chia seeds. Substitute the oranges for peaches or nectarines. Switch out the quinoa for more spinach or double the quinoa/lentils for a heartier meal.
Dill, Avocado & Orange Salad
Serves 2-3 as a main, 4 as a side.
Ingredients
1 cup lentils, cooked and cooled
1 cup quinoa, cooked and cooled
3/4 cup cucumber
1 large avocado
3 stalks of celery
1 cup fresh spinach (loosely packed)
3 tbs pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup of fresh dill, stalks removed
2 oranges
For the dressing:
1 vegetable stock cube
1/4 boiling water
1/4 cup cashews (preferably raw)
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped or minced (~1/2 tsp)
1 cups of fresh dill, stalks removed
1 cup fresh spinach (loosely packed)
1 tsp tamari
1 tsp maple syrup
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 pinch chilli powder
Directions
First, cook lentils and quinoa according to package instructions. (It’s about 1/2 cup of each dry.)
In a small dish, soak cashews and the vegetable stock cube in the boiling water (there should be enough water to cover the nuts, add more if needed).
Next, slice the cucumber into thin rounds and then slice the rounds into strips. Chop celery into small pieces and dice avocado. I like to leave the avocado quite big. Thinly slice the spinach.
In a large bowl, combine lentils, quinoa, cucumber, avocado, and celery.
In a food processor or blender, blitz the cashew and stock mixture with the rest of the ingredients for the dressing until pureed. Set aside
Cut the oranges into small wedges, removing the flesh from the peel and pith. Slice each wedge in half, squeezing the juice from the leftover peels into the salad. Mix half the oranges into the salad.
Add the remaining fresh dill to the salad, saving a few sprigs for garnish.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until combined.
To serve, divide salad evenly between plates, topping with a few oranges pieces. Garnish with a spring of fresh.
