Page 531 - YC Cooking School

different flavours. Remember to remove the chunkier watercress stems as these taste a
little bitter. Give the herbs a rough chop and pop them into the food processor with the

other ingredients.

Tools of the trade
Traditionally, pestos are made using a pestle and mortar or by finely chopping up all the
ingredients with a knife. These days though, it’s completely acceptable to use a food

processor or stick blender.

Adjust the flavours right at the end
Once you’ve blended all the ingredients together, remember to do a final taste check for
balance of flavours and correct seasoning. You may need to add a little sugar to counteract

the sharpness of the lemon.

A few other gourmet salad tricks

To get beautiful, golden crisp bacon, cook it in the oven under the grill instead of in a
pan. With this technique the fat runs off the bacon as it cooks, making it a crispier,
leaner option.
Use a blistering hot griddle pan to cook the nectarines or stone fruit. You’ll get lovely
pretty charred marks that will add another dimension of colour, flavour and character
to your gourmet salad.
Remember when creating your salad to allow the nectarines to cool off for a few
minutes. The last thing you want after all your hard work is a bunch of sad, wilted
salad leaves.

A few notes on using quinoa as a gourmet salad base

Quinoa finds its roots in the Andean areas of South America and has been an important
staple in their diet for over 3000 years. In fact, the Incas loved it so much that they called it
'The Mother of all Grains'. Its price has tripled in the last 7 years, which means it's not

necessarily that budget friendly, but with lots of delicious other things added in, a little bit
goes a long way.

Quinoa is often thought of as a whole grain, but it’s actually a relative of spinach and
beetroot – the part that we eat is the seeds. Considered a ‘superfood’, quinoa is packed full

of all kinds of goodness. It’s high in protein, calcium, iron and fiber and low in fat, and
because of its simple flavour profile, it's also wonderfully accommodating to other
ingredients.

Quinoa can be added to simple soups to bulk them up, served as a salad or even made into

delicious breakfast porridge with a drizzle of honey and toasted nuts.

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