Ingrediënts (serves 2)

Preparation time: 20 minutes

• 120 g (basmati) rice

• 15 g flaked almonds

• 125 g chickpeas

• 3 spring onions

• 3 Medjool dates

• 6 dried apricots

• 15 g pistachio nuts

• 60 g feta

• A few sprigs of fresh mint

• A few sprigs of fresh parsley

• 1 orange

• 40 g pomegranate seeds

For the dressing

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tsp honey

• ½ tsp Natural Spices ground cumin

• ¼ tsp Natural Spices turmeric

• ¼ tsp Natural Spices cinnamon

• 2 tbsp orange juice

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

1. Cook the rice according to the instructions on the packet. Leave to cool.

2. Toast the flaked almonds in a dry frying pan until golden.

3. Rinse the chickpeas in a sieve under cold water and allow to drain. Slice the spring onions into rings, chop the dates and apricots into small pieces, and roughly chop the pistachios. Crumble the feta with your hands. Pick the mint leaves from the stems and finely chop the mint and parsley.

4. Finely grate the zest from half of the orange. Peel the orange and cut the segments out from between the membranes, catching any juice.

5. Make the dressing: mix the olive oil, honey, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, 2 tablespoons of orange juice, orange zest and lemon juice in a small bowl.

6. Place the rice, chickpeas, pomegranate seeds, chopped dates and apricots, spring onions, pistachios, flaked almonds, feta and fresh herbs in a large bowl and mix well. Gently fold in the orange segments.

7. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow the flavours to develop.

8. Serve garnished with extra orange segments and, if you like, a little more fresh herbs.

Tip: Instead of chickpeas, it’s also delicious to season chicken thigh strips with ras el hanout, fry them until cooked through, and add them to the salad.