7 September 2023

A refreshing, tasty dish, this salad is from The Green Barn at Burtown House is perfect for a warm day.

"This dish is very much a seasonal salad with interesting and fresh ingredients all picked from our garden the same day it is eaten. The fresher the produce, the better the flavour. This dish is all about combining flavours and colours with interesting textures. It should be an explosion of the tastes from the garden and, accompanied with the goat’s cheese croute, it really is a winner," explains the team at The Green Barn about this dish

WHAT YOU NEED

1 medium kohlrabi, diced
1 yellow courgette, sliced
Selection of mixed leaves
8 broccoli florets, cooked
100g walnut halves, toasted
100g quinoa, toasted
8 baby turnips, halved
8 hailstone radishes, quartered
1 cucumber, diced
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
8 baby beetroots, roasted

FOR THE PICKLE
5g sea salt
50ml cider vinegar
100g caster sugar
150ml water
½ clove garlic
5g fennel

FOR THE CITRUS VINAIGRETTE
250ml orange juice, sieved
50ml lemon juice, sieved
A drizzle of honey
½ tsp Dijon mustard
300ml pomace olive oil

FOR THE MARINADE
50ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
150ml pomace olive oil
2g thyme leaves
2g basil, chopped
2g mint, chopped
Sea salt

FOR THE GOAT'S CHEESE CROUTE

1 sourdough or spelt loaf
400g St Tola goat’s cheese log
Burtown garden pesto, see below

FOR THE BURTOWN GARDEN PESTO

60g basil
80g parsley
200ml olive oil
150g cashews
½ bulb of garlic
1 lemon
100g Parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste

WHAT YOU DO

Step 1. To make the pesto, blend the basil and parsley first with the olive oil. Add in the cashew nuts and garlic. Squeeze in the lemon juice and add the Parmesan. Blend again for a few minutes to leave a nice texture. Stir in some freshly grated salt and pepper to taste. This will make about one jar so keep whatever you don't use in the fridge - it's delicious served on flatbread pizza with olives and garden produce or through homemade pasta.

Step 2. To prepare the vinaigrette, reduce the orange juice and lemon juice together in a saucepan to 100ml and allow to cool. Whisk the honey, mustard and olive oil to the cooled liquid.
Step 3. For the pickle, in a saucepan, bring the pickle ingredients to the boil and allow to cool. Add the liquid to the diced kohlrabi and leave for three hours. Remove from liquid to serve.
Step 4. Whisk all ingredients for the marinade together. Pour over the sliced courgette. Allow to marinate for three hours.
Step 5. Portion the bread into eight 1 cm slices and spread the pesto evenly on one side. After removing the rind from the goat’s cheese, you can cut thinly with a sharp knife into eight 50g pieces and crumble each piece of cheese evenly on top of the bread. Place on a baking tray and toast in a preheated oven for five mins at 170C/gas mark 3.
Step 5. Dress the mixed leaves with the vinaigrette and divide all the ingredients evenly into four large bowls. Sprinkle with the walnuts and quinoa to finish.

TIP: Prepare the pickle mixture, vinaigrette and marinade the day before. Prepare the vegetables and leaves on the day of purchase to maximise the flavours and textures in this amazing salad.

Recipe courtesy of The Green Barn at Burtown House, photography by Brian Clarke assisted by Harry Weir

Serves 4|Difficulty: Easy|

Time: Less than an an hour, plus pickling time