Five colourful grain salads to brighten up your dinner table

• 25 interesting and filling grain salad recipes

Take some fresh vegetables, herbs and grains and add a few bright flavour notes and boom! You have yourself a simple yet interesting salad for any occasion. Here are five to try from Dutch recipe writer Janneke Philippi's new cookbook, Salad.

Farro salad with grilled vegetables and spinach

Farro is not actually one type of grain, but the collective name for various ancient Roman grain types. Whatever it is, farro is popular in our home. If I've run out of farro in my pantry, I replace it with spelt or burghul wheat.

INGREDIENTS

• 150g farro
• 1 red capsicum
• 1 yellow capsicum
• 1 orange capsicum
• 1 zucchini
• 60ml (¼ cup) olive oil
• 100g semi-sun-dried tomatoes
• 70ml extra virgin olive oil
• good handful of baby spinach

METHOD

1. Cook the farro according to the packet instructions. Drain, rinse under cold running water, then set aside to drain well.
2. Cut the capsicums into strips or pieces. Slice the zucchini into ribbons.
3. Heat a chargrill pan. In a bowl, mix the vegetables with the olive oil. Grill in batches for 4-5 minutes, until the vegetables are al dente and have nice grill marks.
4. Mix the farro with the sun-dried tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil.
5. Toss the grilled vegetables and spinach through the farro. Season the salad with salt and pepper and serve.

Serves 4

Couscous salad with roasted sweet potato and artichoke

Instead of sweet potato, you can also use carrot, Jerusalem artichoke, pumpkin, celeriac or parsnip. For a fuller flavour and extra fibre, use wholemeal couscous.

INGREDIENTS

• 600g sweet potatoes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 300g couscous
• 2cm piece ginger
• 1 lemon
• 400g artichoke hearts in olive oil
• 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
• 90ml extra virgin olive oil

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 200C fan-forced (220C conventional). Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into 1cm cubes. Place on the lined baking tray and drizzle with the olive oil. Roast for 10-15 minutes until cooked through.
3. Pour the couscous into a bowl. Pour 500ml (2 cups) of boiling water on top and let the couscous soak.
4. Peel the ginger and grate finely. Cut the lemon in half. Drain the artichoke hearts well and cut them into quarters. Finely chop the parsley.
5. Stir the couscous with a fork. Add the ginger and extra virgin olive oil. Squeeze the juice from the lemon halves over the couscous. Mix lightly.
6. Add the sweet potato, artichoke and parsley and toss gently. Season the salad with salt and pepper.

Serves 4

Kisir (burghul salad from Turkey)

This burghul salad owes its red colour to the biber salcasi, a Turkish chilli paste made with either hot or mild sweet peppers, which you can find in jars at your Turkish grocer and some supermarkets. You can substitute tomato paste and spice up the salad with red chilli flakes. Make kisir well ahead of time, so that the flavours have the chance to develop.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp biber salcasi (Turkish pepper paste)
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 300g fine burghul wheat
• 3 tomatoes
• 3 spring onions
• handful of fresh herbs, such as mint, oregano and/or flat-leaf parsley
• 3 lemons
• extra virgin olive oil

1. METHOD
2. Chop the onion and finely chop the garlic. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the onion and garlic and fry for 1 minute. Stir in the biber salcasi and cumin and cook for another 1 minute.
3. Add the burghul wheat to the pan and fry for 1 minute more. Pour in 400ml of hot water and bring to the boil.
4. Take the pan off the heat, cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Fluff the burghul wheat with a fork and let it cool down to room temperature.
5. Quarter the tomatoes, remove the seeds and cut the flesh into small cubes. Slice the spring onions and finely chop the herbs. Cut two of the lemons into wedges. Add the tomato, spring onion and herbs to the burghul wheat. Season the salad with the juice of the remaining lemon and salt and pepper.
6. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and serve with the lemon wedges.

Serves 4

Roasted pumpkin with goat's cheese ricotta cream and spelt

This salad looks as beautiful as it tastes: roasted quarters of pumpkin are stuffed with a scoop of light goat's cheese ricotta cream and a salad of spelt and sun-dried tomatoes.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 small pumpkin
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp coarse sea salt
• 150g spelt
• 5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil
• 2 tsp capers
• 4 flat-leaf parsley sprigs
• 3 tbsp rocket
• 100g ricotta
• 1 tsp honey
• 100g soft goat's cheese
• baking tray

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 220C fan-forced (240C conventional). Cut the pumpkin into quarters and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Place the pumpkin on a baking tray. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the salt. Roast for 20-25 minutes until browned and cooked through.
2. Simmer the spelt in salted water for 10 minutes. Drain well.
3. Finely chop the tomatoes, capers, parsley and cress and stir through the spelt. Mash the ricotta, honey and goat's cheese together with a fork.
4. Stir 3 tablespoons of the tomato oil into the spelt mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Take the roasted pumpkin out of the oven. You can serve the pumpkin straight away or let it cool down to room temperature first. Place onto four plates, spoon the goat's cheese ricotta cream into the pumpkin cavities and scoop the spelt salad on top.

Serves 4

Spiced freekeh herb salad

Freekeh comes from the Middle East and is an unripe harvested wheat. After drying, the green grain is lightly roasted and broken into pieces. This provides a firm bite and a nutty, toasted flavour.

INGREDIENTS

• 200g cracked freekeh
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp pine nuts
• 1 red chilli
• 1 bunch dill
• 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
• 3 spring onions
• 1 lemon
• 60ml (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil

METHOD

1. Simmer the freekeh, covered, in 500ml (2 cups) of salted water for 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the freekeh cool to room temperature.
2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Fry the pine nuts for 3 minutes until golden brown, then tip onto a plate to cool.
3. Halve the chilli lengthways and remove the seeds. Finely chop the chilli, along with the dill and parsley. Thinly slice the spring onions.
4. Stir the freekeh with a fork. Stir in the chilli, spring onion, herbs and pine nuts.
5. Squeeze the lemon over the salad. Add the extra virgin olive oil, toss and season the salad with salt and pepper.

Serves 4

This is an extract from Salad by Janneke Philippi. Published by Smith Street Books. Photography by Serge Philippi. RRP $39.99. Buy now