Name: Cress salad with ginger-date dressing
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 1 large pita bread; Olive oil, for drizzling; ½ red onion, very thinly sliced on a mandoline and soaked in cold water (5 minutes); 300 gm mixed leaves, such as watercress, purslane, witlof, baby frisée, rocket and baby spinach; 3 oranges, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds; 6 medjool dates, pitted; ¼ cup mint, coarsely chopped; ¼ cup coriander, coarsely chopped; 1 tbsp sumac (or to taste); 100 gm blanched almonds, roasted and coarsely chopped; Date dressing; 3 medjool dates, pitted; 10 gm ginger (about 2cm), thickly sliced; ½ tsp coriander seeds; 2 tsp sherry vinegar; 1½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; ¼ preserved lemon rind, rinsed and finely chopped; Juice of ½ lemon (or to taste)

This salad, made with orange, greens, crisp pita and sumac, is a twist on a Yotam Ottolenghi original. It lends itself particularly well to variation – try different combinations of cress and bitter greens including watercress, mizuna, baby mustard leaves, purslane, frisée and witlof.

Ingredients

1 large pita bread

Olive oil, for drizzling

½ red onion, very thinly sliced on a mandoline and soaked in cold water (5 minutes)

300 gm mixed leaves, such as watercress, purslane, witlof, baby frisée, rocket and baby spinach

3 oranges, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds

6 medjool dates, pitted

¼ cup mint, coarsely chopped

¼ cup coriander, coarsely chopped

1 tbsp sumac (or to taste)

100 gm blanched almonds, roasted and coarsely chopped

Date dressing

3 medjool dates, pitted

10 gm ginger (about 2cm), thickly sliced

½ tsp coriander seeds

2 tsp sherry vinegar

1½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

¼ preserved lemon rind, rinsed and finely chopped

Juice of ½ lemon (or to taste)

Method

1.Preheat oven to 150°C. For date dressing, combine dates, ginger and coriander seeds in a saucepan over medium heat, add just enough water to cover, and simmer until dates are soft (10-12 minutes). Remove from heat, then transfer dates to a blender with vinegar, oil, preserved lemon and lemon juice and blend until smooth. Season to taste, adding more lemon juice if needed (dressing should be quite tangy).

2.Meanwhile, drizzle pita with olive oil and bake on an oven tray until golden brown (10-12 minutes). Cool briefly, then break into pieces.

3.Drain onion, combine with remaining ingredients, except pita bread, in a bowl, add a little dressing and toss to coat. Serve salad with crisp pita and remaining dressing.

Brigitte Hafner

Styling by Geraldine Muñoz