Well hello! I just wanted to share this delicious salad I quickly rustled up, which looks so pretty with its fuchsia hue and diamond-shaped vegetables. The cherry on top is its luxurious and exotic garnish of dried rose petals and nutty Argan oil!
I’ve just got home from a week’s holiday in Marrakech, and bought both the rose petals and Argan oil from an apothecary in the famous souks. We also bought saffron, ras-el-hanout (a blend of 35 spices!), black cumin (great for clearing out the sinuses) and a monster pumice stone.
You may know of Argan oil as the latest must-have cosmetic. The cosmetic oils are great for nail, skin and haircare, making you look glossy and healthy. The oil is made from kernels from the Argan tree, via goat. Goats climb the trees, eat the berries, and well, you can guess the rest… Much the same process as harvesting Kopi Luwak coffee beans. I’m not squeamish and have also tried Kopi Luwak, and I’m so glad! Kopi Luwak was delicious and I’m dreading the day my Argan oil runs out… it is the nuttiest and most flavoursome oil I have ever had!
To make the salad you will need:
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
2 runner beans
1 small cooked beetroot
100g chickpeas
1tbsp sunflower seeds
Dried edible rose petals
1 tbsp edible (not cosmetic!) Argan oil
Serves 1
1. Put the chickpeas into a saucepan, bring to the boil and cook until just soft and warmed through.
2. Wash, top and tail the runner beans, then cut diagonally through the width of the beans to create diamond shapes. Cut the beetroot into the same shapes as much as possible.
3. Drain the chickpeas and stir them through the quinoa, then add the other vegetables and stir. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Pour the salad onto a plate, scatter over the sunflower seeds and drizzle the oil on top and around the outside of the plate. Garnish with rose petals.
Butterpear 