Squid with fennel, pomegranate and quinoa salad

(Serves 2)

Inspired by The Book Kitchen

This dish is dedicated to my friend Elaine, who ordered this dish one brunch date and absolutely loved it! This was back in 2011 and I never quite perfected it. Recently however i am going through my old salads and wanted to give it another shot to see if i could recreate the deliciousness and freshness i dimly recall taste-testing (and form the photo - thank goodness i used to take photos of everything i ate lol). This was one of my first experiments with quinoa - a high protein, crunchy, slightly nutty tasting carb that I came across in South America on the Inca trail. Now it's pretty much a staple in my diet, great for salads and as a gluten-free carb!

Prep time: 40 min

Cooking time: 5 min

The original from The Book Kitchen

Ingredients

2 leeks

1 cup quinoa

1 tsp salt

2 squid tubes (400 g)

4 tsp Sumac

1 Spanish onion

1 red capsicum

2 cloves garlic

1 pomegranate,

seeds removed

1 lemon

salt and pepper
olive oil

Method

1. Cut leek into thick chunks. Toss leek in salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic and roast at 180°C for 20 minutes.
2. Cook quinoa with one cup of boiling water and salt for 15 minutes. 
3. Slice Spanish onion into thin semi-circles. Finely dice the capsicum.
4. Clean squid and diagonally score inside of squid with a narrow criss-cross pattern and cut into squares. Marinate in salt, pepper, olive oil and two teaspoons of sumac.
5. Heat pan with half tablespoon of oil and chopped garlic. Saute squid for 3 minutes or until it turns white. NB. It is done once it starts to curl up and turns opaque.
6. Mix cooked quinoa, Spanish onion, capsicum, pomegranate seeds, roasted leek and lemon zest with 2 teaspoons sumac, and salt and pepper to taste.
7. Add squid on top and toss with lemon juice and olive oil.