by Patrick Boniface

Created on: September 13, 2010   Last Updated: September 14, 2010

Having visited Morocco recently I was amazed how they combined flavors and textures to create a fantastic tasting and simple dish.

For Spiced Moroccan Salad you will need the following ingredients.

One rounded table spoon of harissa paste

Five tablespoons of olive oil plus another one tablespoon for frying

One tablespoon of lime juice

Two tablespoons of finely chopped coriander plus a handful of whole leaves

Eight mint leaves, finely chopped

Some black pepper

One hundred grams of whole blanched almonds

Two Romaine lettuce hearts

One bunch of spring onions, which need to be trimmed, halved lengthways and then sliced into thin shreds

One hundred grams of Kalamata olives

Method

First, you will need to whisk together the harissa paste with five tablespoons of olive oil and the lime juice.

It is best to do this in a small bowl into which you will then need to mix in the chopped coriander leaves, all of the mint and add plenty of the black pepper, preferably from a grinding mill. It is important to taste this mixture add a little bit more lime juice or harissa paste until you achieve the right taste for your taste buds.

The next thing you will need to do is to pour the remaining olive oil into a pan and heat it gently.

Into this pan you will need to add the almonds which need to be browned. Once completely golden drain them and remember to take off any excess oil from the nuts.

Then simply season with some salt and pepper and set to one side whilst you undertake the last stage of assembling the salad.

The Romaine lettuce will probably require a quick wash under running cold water before it is cut.

For this dish you will need to cut chunky slices of lettuce around an inch thick but remembering to leave the leaves intact.

Now it is a simple matter of putting all the ingredients together. The lettuce is at the base of the bowl onto which you can scatter the browned almonds, spring onions, olives and the remainder of the coriander leaves. Pour over the dressing and stir if required.

If you would like to serve this dish then you might want to consider serving it alongside some cheese and tomato flatbreads.

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