Fennel, feta and pomegranate salad

I am delighted to report that I got the Ottolenghi cookbook for Christmas. I'd wanted it for ages actually - I really love the whole mediterranean/middle-eastern-y hybrid. And everything always looks so utterly gorgeous, just bursting with amazing colour as well as tonnes of flavour and vitamins!

So just what I needed post-xmas-binge and in possession of a draining head cold that just refuses to budge. Urgh.

This is slightly adapted from the original in terms of quantities to suit what I had in the fridge at the time - plus I didn't have any tarragon so used some coriander, but I'm certain tarragon would've been nicer.

Fennel, feta and pomegranate salad

1 fennel bulb very thinly sliced - use a mandolin if you have one but mind your fingers.

1 pomegranate - relieved of its seeds

A pack of good feta cheese crumbled

Handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley and another of coriander

Juice of half a lemon

Drizzle of olive oil

Teaspoon of Sumac (you know, that dark slightly sour tasting middle eastern powder made from a crushed berry) plus a little more to finish the dish.

Not much to say except mix everything together and sprinkle with a little extra Sumac when serving.

I think I'll finish by saying that my MASSIVELY patriotic Scottish mother also bought me some cookbooks for Christmas. She bought me 3 Scottish cookbooks and presented them to me proclaiming that she couldn't understand why I had so many foreign cookbooks and yet none from my homeland... Who knew there were 3 different recipes for something called "Mince N Tatties"? Not me.

Hmm.