Quiona Salad with Dried Persian Lime | Plenty by Ottolenghi

I’ve found a new substance: dried lime or lemon, that adds wonder to a salad. Very much like salt, pepper and oil, lemon or lime is a constant ingredient in almost every dish. Until recently, I don’t give much thought to lemons and limes — other than keeping a few in the fridge. Take one out, zest it or give it a squeeze over some greens. That’s it! There is no secret this is a simple and conventional way to impart acidity and freshness to a salad. Little did I know that dried lime (I use it in powered form), does the same and shows up often in Iranian cooking. The quinoa salad with dried Perisian lime dish is highlighting this special ingredient.

I recently started using a new addictive substance — the small dried limes (or lemons) that appear widely in Iranian cooking. They add a fantastic sharpness and unique perfumed aroma to stew and marinades. For long-cooked wet dishes you just throw one it, lightly perforated and it will imparts its flavor to the whole dish. In this salad, I use it in powdered form. If you have a spice grinder you should be fine. However, a food processor will struggle and give you some powder but you’ll then need to sieve. You can buy the limes in powder form but this is not as potent as what you make yourself.

~ Yotam Ottolenghi in Plenty

If you don’t have access to Persian lime, try this approach that I’ve learned in another Ottolenghi’s recipe. He put freshly-cut and often-discarded lemon peels in the oven to dry. In fact, he’s actually burning them. But I prefer a less extreme measure: dehydrate lemon, lime or blood orange peels, whatever you have, at low oven temperature below 200°F (170°F if you can get that low). Bake until they get completely dry and become hardened. That takes hours. After cooling, I process the dehydrated peels in a Vitamix and turn them into dry powder. The scent of the powder or dust is intoxicating; it smells heavenly. This is where the magic begins.

In this quinoa salad recipe, the lime powder is added to the fresh mint, green onions, lime juice and feta. It’s like a garnish. This salad stands out because of the enormous amount of the garnish together with the fried garlic, sage and oregano. Furthermore, the quinoa salad with the roasted sweet potatoes sings with the unexpected dried Persian lime powder in the herby ensemble!

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Quiona Salad with Dried Persian Lime | Plenty by Ottolenghi

By Yotam Ottolenghi – Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 700g (two medium size, about 12 oz each) sweet potato
• 7 tablespoon/ 1/2 cup olive oil
• salt and black pepper
• a generous 1 cup mixed basmati rice and wild rice
• 1 cup quinoa
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons sage leaves, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons oregano, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons ground dried Persian lime
• 6 tablespoons mint, finely chopped
• 4 green onions, green part thinly sliced, plus extra to finish
• 1 tsp juice from 1/2 lemon
• 200g/ 6 oz feta, crumbled
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1

ROAST THE SWEET POTATOES: Preheat the oven to 400°F/ 200°C. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into 1-inch dice. Spread them over a baking pan lined with parchment paper, drizzling over half the oil and sprinkling with salt and pepper. Roast the sweet potatoes, until tender, but not disintegrating, about 20-25 minutes.

2

COOK THE RICE: While the sweet potato bakes, cook the wild rice, basmati rice and quinoa in separate saucepans. In each case we covered the grains with the required water, brought them to the boil, and then simmered until tender. The rice and quinoa should absorb the water completely. Drain in a fine sieve, if necessary. Transfer the cooked grains to a large mixing bowl.

3

FRY THE AROMATICS: Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan. Fry the garlic until lightly golden, then add and fry the sage and oregano for a minute more. Pour the aromatic mix over the grains in the bowl.

4

Next gently stir in the sweet potato with its oil. Add lime powder, mint, green onions, lemon juice, feta, and some salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

Adapted from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi