- 200 g new potatoes, scrubbed clean
- 4 thyme sprigs
- 5 g mint leaves
- 300 g thick-stemmed asparagus, woody ends trimmed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1½ teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon dill leaves, picked
- 2 tablespoons dukkah, store bought, or homemade
- Pickled shallots
- 1 banana shallot, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds (40g)
- 1½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds, toasted and roughly crushed in a pestle and mortar
- ¼ teaspoon dried hibiscus leaves, finely ground (optional)
- ½ teaspoon caster sugar
- Black garlic puree
- 80 g black garlic
- 1½ tablespoon rose harissa
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Fine sea salt and black pepper
It’s hard to describe the unique flavour of black garlic in comparison to its sharp and pungent raw form, but it’s sort of like a balsamic-liquorice-flavoured jelly baby, if such a thing existed. Here it’s transformed into a dramatic-looking puree, which elevates this spring salad to wonderful heights.
ingredients
directions
1. Preheat the oven to its highest grill setting and ventilate your kitchen well. |
2. Place the potatoes, thyme and half the mint in a large saucepan and pour over enough water to cover by about 3 centimetres. Salt the water well and bring to a boil over a high heat, then turn down to medium-high and simmer for 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Drain through a colander set over the sink and leave to cool completely. Pick out and discard the herbs. |
3. Meanwhile, place the asparagus on a roasting tray with 1 tablespoon of oil, ¼ teaspoon salt and a good grind pepper and mix to combine. Grill in the oven for 4-6 minutes, or until charred but with a slight bite. Set aside to cool. |
4. Make the pickled shallots by mixing all the ingredients together in a small bowl with ⅛ teaspoon of salt. Set aside to pickle gently. Add all the black garlic puree ingredients to a food processor with 60ml of warm water and ⅛ teaspoon of salt and blitz into a fine puree, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Spread the black garlic puree onto a large, lipped plate. |
5. Add the potatoes, asparagus, pickled shallots, lemon juice, dill, remaining mint and last tablespoon of oil to a large bowl and toss to combine. Place on top of the puree and sprinkle over the dukkah. |
