Baby peppers and pine nuts

Ingredients

• Rocket Leaves

• Baby Peppers of different colours

• Pine Nuts

• Olive Oil

• Balsamic Vinegar (optional)

Method

Cut baby peppers lengthwise and remove seeds. Place them on a baking tray skin side up. Grill under the highest setting until their skin burns and looks black. Remove from the oven. Once the peppers are not too hot to touch peel the burnt skin off (it should come off very easily).

Place a handful of pine nuts on a pan, turn the heat on and toss them gently until they turn light brown.

Arrange rocket leaves on the bottom of a plate/bowl. Place baby peppers on top, followed by pine nuts. Drizzle olive oil and vinegar, if you choose so, on top. Season and enjoy.

Serve with bread and hummus or as a side dish to any meal.

Nutrition Facts

This salad is great for your heart health and in management of diabetes.

Baby peppers are very low in calories. They are a rich source of Folate, Vitamin B6, beta-carotene, Iron and Potassium. Bear in mind that Vitamin C present in peppers gets destroyed during cooking process. However, Vitamin C present in raw rocket leaves helps Iron absorption.

Pine nuts are packed with nutrients, they are a good source of Unsaturated Fats, which help to raise HDL cholesterol (the good one) levels and lower LDL cholesterol (the bad one).

Pine nuts are also rich in Vitamin E which is known to support the health of your skin.

Since they are rich in both PUFA (poly-unsaturated fats) and proteins they help to induce the feeling of satiety, will make you feel fuller for longer and help to control blood sugar levels.

If you would like to make this salad a bit more filling, I suggest adding some labneh or chickpeas to increase the protein content.