Moroccan salad

I picked up so many vibrant recipe ideas when I was in Morocco and I like to whip up a spicy salad, inspired by the food I tried in Marrakech, when the weather gets warmer and the days are lazy and long. 

This combination of sweet, hot and salty is really delicious as you get little bombs of different flavours in each bite. It is perfect served with some crusty bread and butter. The quantities below served two people as a main course. 

Ingredients

1 inch cucumber, 1/2 red pepper deseeded, 8 stoned dates, 1 small jar of drained red jalapeño peppers, 2 inch cube strong cheddar cheese, small bunch asparagus, tin of cooked chickpeas drained thoroughly, 1 pack of smoked mackerel fillets, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

Cut the asparagus in to inch long pieces and drop in to boiling water for a couple of minutes until just tender, drain and set aside. Chop the cucumber, red pepper, cheese and dates in to small dice. 

Mix the chickpeas, asparagus, diced vegetables, dates and cheese in a large serving dish, add the red jalapeños, olive oil, lemon juice and toss, then season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Flake the mackerel and gently toss together, serve piled in to serving bowls with crusty bread on the side.