Multi-grain salad

   Feeding vegetarians always poses the problem 'what should I cook?' as I am always looking for something to surprise and satisfy the recipient. This time I also wanted a recipe that looked a little 'Christmassy' and 'summery' for them. And this recipe was a winner. I just love the way it looks and tastes. Pomegranates are available for a such a short period over summer, it is a perfect way to use them. I just love the colour they introduce to dishes.
   The dish serves about 4 - 6 but I found you can add extra to bulk it up and serve more. It comes with a carrot and harissa puree but I did not make it for our Christmas table.
   I made it again to take to a post wedding lunch, held on a really lovely sunny day (the pohutukawa was out and the gods were smiling). The great thing is the salad ingredients can be organised the day before and just assembled when needed.

The Pohutukawa is stunning this summer

Multi-grain Salad - Albion Canteen, Napier - as in Cuisine Issue #166 (p.50)
For the Salad (slightly adapted by me)
3 cups of cooked mixed grains (barley, farro, freekeh or quinoa or brown rice)
1 cup mixed toasted nuts and seeds (almonds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds)
1/3 cup chia seeds
4 tbsp preserved lemon finely chopped
4 tbsp cranberries (or chopped dates, apricots or currants - a mixture of all is lovely)
1 cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley ( only used a small amount as my parsley had gone to seed)
2 cups broccoli florets, blanched and refreshed in cold water - well drained
Gently mix altogether - add the following dressing until salad is well covered (I found I didn't need it all)
For a garnish I also added the seeds of 1/2 pomegranate - looks really nice with the green of the broccoli
Dressing
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
zest and juice of one orange
200ml mild olive oil
Mix in a sealed jar

Pumpkin and Spinach pasta Rotolo

  I watched Jamie Oliver make this a week or so ago. I love his new TV programme, 'Saving with Jamie', in fact I have always liked his casual style of cooking and have quite a few of his recipe books in my library. I have never considered myself a 'fancy' cook, I am more aligned to his style of cooking than Julia Childs!
  His new 'cooking demo place' is in an old rustic looking warehouse type building. You see the odd train sliding past.... And so I find myself checking out the 'bibs and bobs' hanging around in the background - and lose touch with whats going on in his demo, thank goodness for the rewind button!
  This recipe is my kind of dish. Easy to make, using inexpensive ingredients, and very impressive looking to plonk on the table for the family.
  I made it exactly to his specifications, but just added a little water to the tomato sauce the rotolo sat in. Quite rightly I thought it might dry out if the sauce did not come up more than half way.
  I also roasted the pumpkin in  big chunks, so much easier to handle for your filling.
  While aimed at vegetarians, I'm sure you could easily adapt the ingredients to include a bolognaise sauce in the 'roll ups'.
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/squash-spinach-pasta-rotolo
   At Jamie's suggestion, I used frozen spinach ( a first for me ) and at about $5.00 a packet it seemed an easier and quicker way to use spinach. Saves all that washing and 'destalking'. I will have it on hand in my freezer from now on.
This dish is easy to reheat the next day too.

I added a little more water and sauce, to come up two thirds of the pasta 'roll ups'

The fried sage on top is an especially nice touch, I love the stuff!