Spring Greens & Grains Salad with Seared Lamb & Goats Cheese

Charred kale and asparagus with freekeh, pine nuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, pomegranate, currants, creamy goats cheese and seared lamb – healthy and fast.  Jump to Recipe 

Can too much choice become a bad thing? Is there a point where our culture of wanting “the best” for everything, whether it be the best restaurant experience, the best blender, the best book, the best meal, the best job, heck, the best partner, couples with the insane number of options right at our fingertips, to become crippling?

Amongst the current exams (one to go!), I have been reading Modern Romance, by Aziz Ansari, a hilarious take on dating and relationships in the age of texting and social media, along with observations that relate to pretty much every other facet of our modern, screen-devoted lives. SO GOOD. Just about every page had a smile on my face, and this passage particularly resonated:

(on trying to pick somewhere to eat in a new city)
“First I texted four friends who travel and eat out a lot and whose judgement on food I really trust. While I waited for recommendations from them, I checked the website Eater for its “Heat Map”, which includes new, tasty restaurants in the city. I also checked the “Eater 38”…then I checked reviews on Yelp to see what the consensus was on there. I also checked an online guide to Seattle in GQ magazine. I narrowed down my search after consulting all these recommendations and then went on the restaurant websites to check out the menus.

At this point I filtered all these options down by tastiness, distance, and what my tum-tum told me it wanted to eat.

Finally, after much deliberation, I made my selection: Il Corvo, a delicious Italian place that sounded amazing. Fresh made pasta. They only did three different types a day. I was very excited.

Unfortunately it was closed. It only served lunch.

By now I had run out of time because I had a show to do, so I ended up making a peanut-butter-and-banana-sandwich on the bus.”

It made me more aware of how much we focus on getting the best thing, the new thing. I am sure that the number of hours a day I spend online, fairly aimlessly, would be eye-watering – and I am not sure whether it results in greater enjoyment – being never quite satisfied with what we have.

However, I am not saying these increased choices are a bad thing at all, or that I want to be transported back to 50 years ago. For example, when my parents were growing up in small town New Zealand, the majority of the ingredients in this Spring Greens & Grains Salad were simply unavailable. Pomegranate, kale or goats cheese? Heck, even asparagus or pinenuts? Think again. Dinnertime was limited to potatoes, red meat, steamed vegetables, with rice puddings as regular desserts. I don’t know whether you can miss something that you have never experienced, but I can’t help but feel my life is fuller for creating food and watching people enjoy it, and more recently through blogging and making connections with you guys through this little (or big, maybe!) online food world.

Like many things, I think there must be balance. Getting the best parts of social media and the internet while attempting to avoid the worst (hello, procrastination), would be a start for me. Would highly recommend Aziz Ansari’s book!

Onto this salad, though. Very green and springlike, it is full of charred kale and asparagus, pops of pomegranate, toasted pinenuts, almonds and pumpkin seeds, a hint of sweetness from currents, lots of parsley and mint, nutty freekeh to bulk it out, and topped with creamy chunks of goat’s cheese and seared lamb. Actually pretty quick to throw together, works perfectly as leftovers (nothing soggy here!) and is healthy to boot. Seriously, get on it.

Apologies also for taking so long to reply to your comments on my last post (this banana bread) – I have been smack bang in the middle of exams and just haven’t had much time. But the last one is tomorrow-  cannot wait to be finished!

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Spring Greens & Grains Salad with Seared Lamb and Goats Cheese

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

Inspired by Gather & Feast

Servings: 4

Author: Claudia Brick

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked freekeh , cooked according to package instructions
• 1 large bunch kale , roughly chopped
• 2 bunches (12-18 spears) asparagus
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 2-3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
• 2-3 tablespoons pine-nuts
• 1/2 cup currants
• 3/4 cup finely chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup mint , roughly torn
• 1/3 of a small red onion , finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
• seeds of 1/2 a pomegranate
• 70 g goats cheese
• lamb loin fillets/backstrap , enough for 4 people (~150g per person)

Dressing

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• juice of a lemon
• 1 clove of garlic , crushed or very very finely chopped
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Cook the freekeh according to packet instructions (this varies as different manufacturers have different sized freekeh grains, but it is usually 1 part freekah to 2 or 2.5 parts water.
2. Add the almonds, pumpkin seeds and pinenuts to a small dry pan, and cook over a low-medium heat for 5-10 minutes, watching carefully, until golden, toasted and fragrant. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3. In a small bowl or cup, stir together the olive oil, lemon juice and crushed garlic for the dressing. Set aside
4. Rinse the kale leaves and roughly chop them. Place a large pan over a high heat with a drizzle of olive oil. then add the kale. Quickly toss it around for about 2 minutes, or until the leaves are bright green with a few charred bits. Remove from the heat and place in a large bowl.
5. Meanwhile, break off the woody ends of the asparagus and cut the remaining spears in half. Add the asparagus to the hot pan (that the kale was just in), and season with salt and pepper. With the heat on medium high, cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the asparagus is tender but still crisp, and the skin is browning and puckering. Add the asparagus to the bowl of kale.
6. Add the freekeh, toasted nuts and seeds, currants, parsley, mint, red onion and pomegranate to the asparagus and kale. Add the salad dressing and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
7. To cook the lamb, heat a pan or barbecue plates over medium-high heat. Drizzle the lamb with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Sear on both sides (time very much depends on the thickness of your lamb, but mine are normally 2-4 minutes per side) - you can test a little bit with a knife if you are unsure.
8. Let the lamb rest for 5 minutes, then slice thinly and serve on top of the salad. Sprinkle with goat's cheese.