Rich and filling, the grilled piquillo peppers in these nutritious balls pairs perfectly with the peppery and sweet rocket and date salad for the perfect flavour combination, and best of all: you can keep half the delicious mix to make another, just as tasty meal; coming soon!
NOTE: This recipe creates double the mix you will need to serve two. Refrigerate the unused half of the mix to be used in another of my recipes, available soon.
Serves two (makes 8; using half the mix)
20 minutes (10 prep, 10 cook)
1 bayleaf
1 packet (230g) of lentils
1/2 a white onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 handful of spinach, chopped
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp of milled flaxseed
2 romano peppers
2 handfuls of rocket *
4 pitted dates *
1/4 cup (35g) almonds, chopped *
*Double these ingredients if you are using all of the mix in one meal.
Preheat the grill to 200C.
Soak the bayleaf in boiling water for at least 5 minutes, so as to soften it so it blends well.
Cut the peppers in half, place each half on a baking sheet and grill for 10 minutes, until the skin begins to char and the flesh is soft and wet.
In the meantime, drain and rinse the lentils and place them in a food processor with the half onion, garlic cloves, handful of spinach and the oil and season to taste. Drain the bayleaf and add it to the mixture and blend well.
Remove the pepper halves from the grill (leaving the grill on) and, using utensils so as not to burn yourself, remove the burnt skin and dispose of it. Chop the skinned peppers, add them to the mix, and stir thoroughly.
Decant half of the mix into a bowl, refrigerating the other half for another time, it should keep for 3 days.
(The rest of this recipe caters for using half of the mix. If you are using all the mix, follow the same instructions but double the asterisked ingredients - as before mentioned).
Roll out 8 (or 16) balls and lay them on a baking-sheet on a baking tray and grill them for 10 to 15 minutes. Turn them every 3-5 minutes, so they harden and brown but don’t burn.
Chop the dates and almonds together and mix them in with the rocket, topping it with a drizzle of oil.
Remove the balls from the grill when they have darkened in colour and are firm to the touch (don’t prod them too hard as you might mush them).
Serve the balls on top of the rocket salad.
Find this dish on Instagram!