Though we cannot agree on how you pronounce ‘quinoa’ (Nik says ‘quin-o-ah’, Edwina says ‘keen-wah’, Wikipedia says they’re both acceptable), we are in full agreement that this is a lush, exotic, robust, incredibly tasty salad, working well in winter to bring a little bit of summer into those cold dark evenings. There is now a UK farm producing quinoa, which is ethical in terms of air miles and local sustainability.

The salad:-

150g quinoa

350g curly kale leaves

4 blood oranges

2 spring onions, finely sliced

1 large avocado, peeled and stoned and cut into 1cm chunks

a handful coriander leaves, roughly chopped

1 tsp black sesame seeds

2 tbspns olive oil

The dressing:-

3 tsps white miso paste

3 tsps light soy sauce

Juice of half a lime

1 dstspn extra virgin olive oil

2 dstspns ground nut oil

• Rinse the quinoa in cold water. Bring a pan of salted water to a boil and cook the quinoa for 12 to 15 minutes, till just done. Drain, put back into the pan, add the olive oil and season, set aside

• Steam the kale till it’s just cooked, refresh, set aside

• Put all the dressing ingredients into a jar, put the lid on and shake till it’s mixed. Season to taste

• Cut each end of an orange with a sharp knife, stand it upright on your work surface and cut away the pith and peel. Then slice into rounds, and cut each round into four. Do the same with the remaining oranges

• To the quinoa add the coriander, spring onion, kale and orange pieces. Toss gently, then add the dressing and toss a little more. Put the salad into a large bowl, scatter the avocado chunks on top, sprinkle with the sesame seeds and serve