When I recently put up an Instagram photo of a salad I made for dinner I received a few requests for the recipe. There wasn’t much to it, really, so here we have it. This is a very versatile salad and will take any fresh ingredient you have in your fridge. It’s one of those “easy knock-up” meals that’s healthy and quick, even when it involves smoking a piece of fresh fish. Smoking is so easy! While the fish is smoking, and to cut prep time, get the pumpkin roasting and the quinoa cooking all at the same time.

If you really want to cut corners, grab a pre-smoked trout or salmon and flake it into the bowl. There are no rules here, folks. Don’t want to use quinoa? Go with risoni or couscous instead. One thing I did differently in my smoking method here is add a teaspoon of ground coffee to my usual mix. A little different, a little bit more intense.

smoked trout, red quinoa, roasted pumpkin & sprouting chickpea salad

serves 2

• 200 g butternut pumpkin, cut into 1½ cm dice
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp balsamic syrup
• 350 g fillet rainbow trout, pin-boned
• 1/3 cup red quinoa
• 3 cups water
• 1 small carrot, peeled
• ½ cup sprouting chickpeas and peas
• 100 g broccolini, sliced
• 50 g enoki mushrooms
• 1 tbsp maple balsamic
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp sea salt
• Milled black pepper, to taste

To smoke the trout follow this recipe. Honestly, try it. You’ll see how easy it really is.

Preheat oven to 220°C. Toss the diced pumpkin with the olive oil and balsamic syrup and place onto a baking tray. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

In a small saucepan place the water and quinoa and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Drain into a fine strainer, run cold water over to cool, then allow to drain completely. Set aside.

Using a flat peeler, cut the carrot into ribbons and place into a large mixing bowl. Add the chickpeas, peas, broccolini, mushrooms, quinoa & pumpkin. Flake in the smoked trout, add the maple balsamic and oil and season to taste. Toss gently with your hands and serve immediately.