Mark Doe of ‘Just Cooking’ Cookery School in Firies has this great healthy salad recipe…

IT seems that everybody has made healthier eating their new year’s resolution this year.

I needed baby spinach for a dish this week and found it impossible to get any, everyone must be starting their healthy drive by using this tasty and healthy leaf vegetable.

Coupled with chickpeas this tasty little salad is fantastic with fish, lamb or chicken or by itself.

This salad is inspired by Middle Eastern cuisine, where beans, yoghurt and mint are widely used.

Buying tinned chickpeas makes this a quick and easy dish.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 x 400g of cooked, tinned chickpeas

4 tbsp rapeseed oil

200g button mushrooms, cut into ¼ s

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

2 teaspoons of ground cumin

Juice of 1 lemon

160ml natural yogurt.

3 tablespoons of chopped fresh mint

250g baby spinach leaves

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Drain the chickpeas and give a good rinse under the cold tap.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a high heat.

Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook until softened and lightly golden.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic, chilli and chickpeas.

Fry for 1 minute then add the cumin and ½ of the lemon juice.

Put the yoghurt in a bowl. Mix through the chopped mint and the juice form the remaining ½ lemon.

Season with salt and pepper and whisk together.

Serve the spinach in bowls and top with the chickpea mix.

Drizzle with the yoghurt dressing.