Virginia Iovine-Turner Cucina Amore www.cucinaamore.co.nz

Bay of Plenty spring has arrived and what a glorious day we had. A great time to plan ahead for those summer barbecue late nights and fun at the beach.

When I think of spring, salad comes to mind and I do get excited with the thought of our seasonal fruit which we can all enjoy. I am sure you will agree that salad is an easy dish to prepare to be used to compliment meat, fish and chicken or even on its own. Next time you catch a fresh snapper try this as a side, simplistic and full of freshness.

Chargrilled capsicum salad

1 pkt of baby spinach leaves, washed
1/2c feta, cut into squares
1 large red capsicum
1/4c good quality olive oil
1/4c toasted pine nuts or pumpkin seeds
Juice of 1 lemon. Before you squeeze, grate half the rind and keep aside
Handful of black olives (optional)
Black cracked pepper and sea salt (optional)

First you need to chargrill your capsicum, you can do this in a few ways. You need to spray the capsicum with spray oil or brush oil on. Heat a hot plate (griddle) on the stove top or a non stick pan is fine. Other options are to barbecue the capsicum or put it in an oven set at 200 degrees. Cook until the skin turns black like the chargrilled effect. You will achieve this by turning the capsicum over to cover all of the skin.

Once this is achieved, remove and allow to cool. When capsicum has cooled, cut in half and remove all seeds and core. Peel the skin, slice thinly and set aside. In a salad bowl, place the spinach leaves along with feta, capsicum, pine nuts or pumpkin seeds and olives. Sprinkle the lemon rind, drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice and serve with cracked pepper and a little sea salt.