Posted by A simple, wholesome salad with the goodness of whole lentils and quinoa. Fresh herbs and tomatoes make it light, while grilled halloumi adds on to the texture.
Today I just want to know what kind of food photographer you are?
One who relies on the phone or the one who trusts the DSLR?
Well, I have to be honest here as I do have someone to guide me. But everyone is not that lucky. With some basic knowledge of DSLR, I feel anyone can handle one.
Cooking and styling take a lot of time. Hence, by the time I am done with both, daylight is fading already. Winters are worse as I race against time to get a decent photo. A DSLR with a fast lens is an essential asset when faced with low light.
Although, when it comes to taking a photograph in a restaurant, its an entirely another scenario. At home, I usually am in control. I visualize the shot and gradually work towards it. At times it fails, but a little improvisation and playing with angles help me get what I want. However, in a restaurant, you have the end product, and you need to figure out how best you can shoot it. With distractions in abundance, the plating might not be precise to what I imagined.
With the right lens, I can minimize distraction and get a decent shot right at the spot. I can visualize how the picture would look after editing.
However, having said that, there are a few top angle shots taken with my cell phone camera that did very well as post. I also depend on my mobile camera for a quick shot of food served outdoors, as I still struggle to adjust the settings. All my stories and infact, a couple of slow-motion cooking videos have been shot and edited on a cell phone.
Hence, I am someone who needs a bit of both, and it’s going to stay that way for a while.
After this tiny detour, let’s come back to the recipe. Make this simple salad if you prefer warm salad during winter. And do let me know if you like.
Lentil Quinoa salad with grilled halloumi
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Makes : 1-2
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes
Ingredients:
- Lentils 100gms
- Quinoa and Bulgar (mix) 100gms
- Cucumber 1
- Cherry tomatoes few
- Olives few
- Mint leaves
- Halloumi 220 gms
Vignette
- Garlic cloves 3
- Olive oil 4 tbsp
- Chili flakes 1 tbsp
- Lemon juice 2 tbsp
- Salt and pepper
Method:
- Cook the lentils and quinoa separately. You could use vegetable stock or salted water.
- Let the quinoa and Bulgar fluff up.
- In a mixing bowl, pour all ingredients except the ones for dressing.
- From the vignette, heat the olive oil and let the chopped garlic and chili flakes sizzle for a few seconds.
- Pour it into a glass container and add the rest of the ingredients. Shake well.
- Add the dressing to salad and toss. Add grilled halloumi slices. Enjoy
note: you could use only quinoa instead of the mixture of quinoa and bulgur wheat
Magic Ingredient 