Delight in the blend of earthy mushrooms, crisp greens, and nutty ancient grains as you savour each mouthful of this nutritious and satisfying salad. Bursting with colours, textures, and the tangy notes of balsamic, this culinary masterpiece by South African Mushroom Farmers’ Association is sure to leave you craving more.

Ingredients

• 500g mixed cultivated mushrooms sliced into similar-sized chunks
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 3tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1tbsp soy sauce
• 2cloves gloves finely minced
• 1/2tsp dried oregano diced
• 125g tender-stem broccoli ends trimmed
• 150g fine green beans ends trimmed
• 4cups ancient grains of choice, warmed (Spelt, barley, black and white quinoa make a lovely mix)
• 1lemon juice and zest
• salt and pepper to taste
• micro herbs for garnish

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200˚C, fan on.
2. Add your mushroom mix to a large mixing bowl. Drizzle over the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and oregano. Season with some black pepper as the soy is salty. Toss well, coating every piece of mushroom in the seasoning.
3. Place on a large baking tray, well-spaced out. Roast for ± 7 minutes until just tender and juicy
4. When done, keep mushrooms on the roasting tray and keep the mushroom roasting liquid that will have been released while cooking. This will form a delicious dressing.
5. While the mushrooms are roasting, bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Blanch the broccoli and then the green beans until bright green and just cooked through.
6. Using tongs, drain the veg and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the lemon zest and the juice of half the lemon. Season with salt and pepper. Mix to dress the beans and broccoli all over.

To serve

1. Plate the ancient grains on a serving platter. Dress with the remaining lemon juice.
2. Top with the roasted mushrooms and blanched green beans and broccoli. Layer the veggies in a nice visual mix and then drizzle the residual mushroom cooking liquid as a dressing over everything.
3. Garnish with micro herbs and enjoy!