Grilled roots, fruits and leaves salad
This is a lovely hearty salad, perfect for cooking outdoors on a barbecue if it’s a nice sunny day.
Ingredients
For the grilled roots, fruits and leaves
- 250g/9oz celeriac, peeled and very thinly sliced
- 2 slightly under-ripe pears, cored and cut into eighths
- 1 large or 2 small heads of radicchio, cut into eighths
- 50g/1¾oz skin-on hazelnuts, ideally soaked for a few hours in cold water and roughly crushed
- chervil or parsley leaves, to garnish
For the dressing
- 55g/2oz blackberries or raspberries
- 2 tbsp cold-pressed rapeseed oil
- 2 tsp cider vinegar
- ½ orange, finely grated zest and juice
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the barbecue until the flames have died down and the coals are covered in a layer of white ash. (If you wish to cook this inside, you can also use a hot griddle pan.)
Use tongs to lay the celeriac on the hot grill. Do not move the pieces for a couple of minutes. When they develop some colour, turn and cook on the other side; they should take 5–7 minutes in total. During cooking, add the pear slices (they need 4–6 minutes) and radicchio (needs 3–4 minutes). Alternatively, if your grill is small, cook in batches. When everything is cooked and slightly charred, transfer to a large bowl.
To make the dressing, put half the berries in a sieve and place over a bowl. Use a spoon to crush the fruit and rub it through the sieve, creating a pool of juice in the bowl. Add the oil, vinegar, orange zest and a squeeze of juice. Add some salt and pepper and whisk together well. Taste and adjust as you like, with a little more vinegar, oil or orange juice.
Pour the dressing over the grilled celeriac, radicchio and pears. Mix and leave for 2 minutes to infuse. Mix all of the ingredients gently together again.
Transfer the salad to a serving platter or divide between four plates. Dot the remaining berries and the hazelnuts over the top. Season a little and garnish with chervil.
