Recipe - Fragrant Saffron Pasta Salad

8 ounce (240 g) small pasta shapes
4 teaspoon Olive oil
pn Pure saffron powder or
Strands
1 ounce (30 g) flaked almonds
2 ounce (60 g) currants
1 Garlic clove, crushed
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon Clear honey
One fourth teaspoon Ground cumin
One fourth teaspoon Ground coriander
1 Yellow pepper, deseeded and
Cut into slivers
1 tablespoon Finely chopped fresh
Parsley
1 tablespoon Finely chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon Finely chopped fresh
Coriander
Salt and freshly ground
Black pepper
Fresh coriander leaves, to
Garnish

1. Cook the pasta in plenty of lightly salted boiling water for a few
minutes less than the pack instructions. Rinse well with cold water and
drain thoroughly. Transfer to a serving bowl. 2. Heat the oil in a small
saucepan and add the saffron, flaked almonds, currants and garlic. Cook
gently, stirring, until the almonds turn a rich nutty brown. Remove from
the heat and blend in the lime juice, honey, cumin and coriander. 3. Gently
fold the pasta, pepper slivers and fresh herbs into the dressing until
lightly coated. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 4. Refrigerate for 1
hour and then serve the salad, garnished with sprigs of fresh coriander.

Preparation and cooking time: 30 minutes + 1 hour chilling

Freezing not recommended Use the smallest pasta shapes (pastini) you can
find for this spicy salad. Italian food shops may stock orzo (barley) pasta
which resemble grains of rice. This beautifully fragrant and colourful
salad is a good accompaniment to barbecued chicken or lamb.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini