Ingredients

4-5 handfuls of fava beans
1 and a half handfuls of hijiki seaweeds, soaked in filtered water for 15-20 minutes, then cooked in boiling water for another 15 minutes, drained, rinsed under cold running water and drained again
1 cucumber, cleaned and cut into small sticks
4-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons tamari
juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
a pinch of whole sea salt
a pinch of chili powder
fresh basil, cleaned and chopped, to taste

Makes 2 servings.

Directions

In a salad bowl, mix the fava beans with the hijiki and the cucumber. Add the olive oil, tamari, lemon, salt, chili and basil and toss gently until thoroughly coated. Refrigerate to chill for about 10-15 minutes before serving.

Ingredients

250 g brown lentils, soaked for at least six hours then cooked in natural mineral or filtered water with a pinch of whole sea salt (used canned lentils, if you really have to)
water and whole sea salt, to cook the lentils
2 cucumbers, ends cut off, washed, peeled and diced
1 red pepper, core and seeds removed, washed and diced
2 large handfuls of fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
1 red onion, peeled and diced
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
extra virgin olive oil, to taste
apple vinegar, to taste
whole sea salt, just enough to taste
ground white pepper, just enough to taste
chilli powder, to taste

Makes 4 servings.

Directions

Cook the lentils in a pressure cooker or large pot until al dente. Rinse the lentils under cold running water, put them in a salad bowl then let cool completely (first at room temperature, then in the fridge) before adding the cucumbers, pepper, parsley, onion and garlic. Toss and add the olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and chilli powder. Toss again then trasfer into the fridge to cool for at least half hour. Serve chilled.

Ingredients

For the soup

1/2 ripe pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into pieces
2 cucumbers, ends cut off, washed, peeled and cut into pieces
1/2 shallot, peeled and chopped
2 handfuls of almonds, peeled and soaked for 1 hour
juice of 1 lemon
3 teaspoons agave syrup
3 cm fresh ginger root, peeled
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (and some more for the garnish)
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt
1/2 teaspoon powdered coriander seeds
a pinch of ground white pepper
a pinch of chilli powder (and some more to garnish, if desired)
1 cup of natural mineral or filtered water, chilled

For the pesto

3 handfuls of Brazilian nuts
2 cloves of garlic
4 large handfuls of fresh basil
whole sea salt, just enough to taste
zest of 1 lemon
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
natural mineral or filtered water, just enough to reach the right texture

Makes 2 servings.

Directions

Place all the soup ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or blender and purée. You can add some more water if necessary. Once you finish processing, let the soup cool completely (freeze for the first 30 minutes then transfer into the fridge for another 30 minutes). In the meantime, you can prepare the pesto.

Coarsely chop the nuts in a food processor or coffee grinder. Peel and mince the garlic. Wash the basil leaves and break them with your fingers. Place the nuts and garlic in a (preferably marble) mortar and pound briefly with the pestle. Add the basil, salt and lemon zest and pound a bit more.  Slowly pour the olive oil  while you keep stirring with the pestle, then add the water, little by little, until you get  to the right texture (it should still be  a bit chunky to better complement the very light consistency of the soup).  If you don’t have a mortar, you can use a food processor to make the pesto but be careful not to overprocess and overheat the mixture, which would lose  both colour and taste. However, the best option is to use a mortar and pestle method. As soon as the soup is completely chilled, divide it into  individual serving cups and top with a dollop of pesto. Sprinkle over a little chilli powder, finish with another little drizzle of olive oil if desired and serve.

I’ve always loved strawberries and cucumber, but never thought about having them together as main ingredients in a salad. I got the idea from a book on vegetarian Indian cuisine (Yamuna Devi’s The Best of Lord Krishna’s Cuisine), and slightly changed the recipe. This sweet-savoury salad is indeed very light and refreshing, and works perfectly as a salad, on its own, or as an easy fruit salad to finish a meal. I think I’ll make it more often as soon as the weather gets warmer. A great thing about it, is that you can make it sweeter or more savoury by varying the amounts of salt and rice malt syrup ;) For best results, choose organic fruit and vegetables.

Makes 2 servings.

Ingredients:

For the salad

1 basket fresh strawberries

1 medium-sized cucumber

For the dressing

juice of 2 oranges (Navel or Valencia, freshly squeezed)

1 tablespoon fresh mint, minced

whole sea salt (to taste)

rice malt syrup (2 to 4 teaspoons, depending on taste)

powdered dried ginger (to taste)

Method:

Salad

Wash the stawberries, drain them and remove the caps, then cut them into halves or quarters. Wash the cucumber and cut it into slices or smaller bite-sized pieces. Set aside and prepare the dressing.

Dressing

In a medium bowl, whisk the orange juice, rice malt syrup, salt and ginger together, then add the mint and stir.

To assemble

Add the strawberries and cucumber to the dressing bowl, toss and serve. Alternatively, you can serve the salad directly into individual small bowls.