Omega plum, spinach and walnut salad

Serves 4 Preparation time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes

Maroon, the colour inside an Omega plum, is very hot right now. If you’d rather not wear it, add it to your salads instead with other seasonally appropriate baby spinach, New Zealand walnuts, and still-fashionable quinoa. cup quinoa cup water

1 cup walnut halves

1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil teaspoon salt teaspoon sumac

Put the quinoa in a fine sieve and rinse well under cold running water. Drain, then put in a small pot with the water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then lower the heat and cover the pot. Cook for 10-15 minutes, until the water is absorbed. Remove from the heat and tip into a bowl to cool.

While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the dressing. Put all the dressing ingredients into a small bowl and whisk until combined. Taste for seasoning and set aside.

Toast the walnuts until fragrant in a small frying pan set over medium heat. Cut the plums into quarters (or eighths, if they are large).

When the quinoa is cool, add half the dressing and mix well. Put the spinach leaves and plums in a serving bowl and add the quinoa. Toss through the quinoa and walnuts until combined. Drizzle over the remaining dressing, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

This is the kind of salad beloved by people who are suspicious of eating vegetables. It’s not quite the same as a bowl of greens, but it has some good stuff in there. 2 medium kumara, peeled 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

200g chorizo, cut into cm coins

Put the kumara in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Set over medium heat and bring to a boil. Simmer until just tender – about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool, then cut into 1.5cm dice.

Set a large, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoons of the olive oil and the chorizo.

Fry gently for three minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the diced kumara. Fry until it is golden and crisp on all sides. Transfer the chorizo and kumara to a bowl, and return the pan to the heat.

Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, followed by the capsicum. Stir-fry until it is starting to scorch, then add the cumin seeds and olives and cook for another minute. Add the capsicum and olives to the kumara and chorizo.

Return the pan to the heat briefly and add the vinegar. Let it bubble up, then stir to scrape up any caramelised bits from the bottom of the pan before adding to the chorizo and kumara.

Fold through the parsley and transfer to a serving dish. This is best served warm or at room temperature.

More of Lucy’s recipes, visit at thekitchenmaid.com. To see what she’s cooking on a daily basis, find her on Instagram or Facebook.