A healthy, **plant based** tabbouleh with brocolli, pomegranate and spinach.

**prep time** 25 mins **total time** 35-40 mins
**serves** 4-6

This is a bright, seasonal and fresh tasting tabbouleh salad, great for lunch or as a side for dinner.

The dressing is one of my favourites, and so easy to make. All you need it tahini, lemon, yogurt, chilli flakes and sea salt.

For the main event, grab a large roasting tin and fill with the oil, ras el hanout, broccoli florets, garlic cloves and onion. Make sure that everything is coated and roast for 20-25 minutes.

Now it’s time to cook the lentils by adding them to 500ml of salted boiling water. You can also opt to use tinned lentils which just require heating and draining. Once cooked, fry the spinach and add the spinach, lentils, chopped apple and the rest of the tabbouleh ingredients to a large bowl.

Once the broccoli and onion wedges are ready, remove from oven and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Finally, sprinkle with the nuts and pomegranate seeds and serve with a drizzle of tahini yogurt, and wedges of lemon or lime.

Ingredients

1 large head of broccoli, or 2 smaller, cut in florets
1 large onion, sliced
3 or 4 whole garlic gloves. No need to peal.
2 tbsp olive oil
1 heaped tsp ras el hanout
300g dried green lentils, rinsed or a 440g tin of precooked lentils
1 green apple, chopped
Handful of pomegranate seeds (optional)
200g baby spinach
Large bunch of coriander & mint
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.
Salt & Pepper to taste
50g (good sprinkle) mixed nuts/seeds. (I used pumkin, sunflower and flaked almonds)
1 lemon or lime, cut into wedges to serve (optional)

Dressing

150ml vegan yogurt
2 tsp tahini
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
Sea salt & pepper to taste

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200C
To make the dressing, whisk the tahini with the juice of the lemon (about 2 tbsp). Add the yogurt, chilli flakes, lemon zest, season with sea salt and combine.
In a large roasting tin, add the oil, ras el hanout and salt & pepper, together with the broccoli florets, garlic cloves and onion. Toss to coat and spread out. Roast for 20/25 mins, tossing halfway through.
If using dried lentils, add in a pan with 500ml salted boiling water and simmer for about 25 mins until lentils are tender. If using tinned (we did) , heat through and then drain. Add the spinach to a dry pan with a tablespoon of water, and heat to wilt.
Once the lentils are cooked, add to a large bowl, together with the spinach, chopped apple and the rest of the tabbouleh ingredients. Check seasoning. Gently toss to combine.
Once the broccoli and onion wedges are ready, remove from oven and tumble on top of the lentils. Toss everything together, sprinkle with nuts/seeds and pomegranate seeds if using.
Serve with dollops of the tahini yogurt, and wedges of lemon or lime!