Skye Gyngell Recipes: Spelt and Anchovy Salad

The elegant new Skye Gryngell cookbook, collating the flavours and style of her new Somerset House restaurant, is full of fresh summer recipe ideas, The recipes in, Spring, are inspired by the seasons, and cover incredibly varied ground - from bread, to dairy, to seafood, to ice cream. Each brings a dash of restaurant pizzazz to dishes that are possible to recreate at home.

We love this inventive spelt and anchovy salad recipe. Serve solo for tasty light lunch or use it as a fresh compliment to summer barques and picnics. 

Spelt, anchovies and mint

This salad originally came about as a way of using up leftover grain. At least once a week at home I will put a large pot of spelt on to cook when I come home from work. It’s quick, easy, warm and comforting. We eat it simply dressed with some good oil and a splash of wine vinegar, sometimes with a fried egg on top.


INGREDIENTS

Serves 4

200g spelt

100ml extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 firm, ripe, small cucumbers

20 ripe little tomatoes, such as datterini, San Marzano or organic cherry tomatoes

8 good quality anchovies (such as Ortiz)

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon and juice of ½ lemon

A large handful of mint leaves, whole or roughly torn

A small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves only, chopped

A large handful of basil leaves, whole or roughly torn

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

Put the spelt in a colander and rinse well under cool, running water, stopping when the water runs clear. Tip the spelt into a heavy-based saucepan and add enough cold water to cover by 2-3cm. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, then turn down the heat slightly. Cook until the spelt is tender but still firm to the bite – this will take about 25-35 minutes.

Drain the spelt and place in a bowl. While it is still warm, add the olive oil, wine vinegar and a good pinch of salt. Toss together well to combine and set aside to cool.

While the spelt is cooling, quarter the cucumbers lengthways, then chop them into 1cm pieces. Halve the tomatoes and tear the anchovies in half.

Once the spelt is cooled, add the cucumbers, tomatoes, anchovies, and lemon zest. Toss lightly together, then add the herbs and toss gently again. Squeeze over the lemon juice, taste for seasoning and give the salad one final toss. Arrange prettily in a salad bowl or divide among plates. 

Recipe extracted from Spring by Skye Gyngell (Quadrille Press, Hardback £25)