Feel-good Food (Part 3) - Shaved asparagus and rocket salad, Cranberry and pomegranate granita

Shaved asparagus and rocket salad

Serves 4

·         1 small parsnip, peeled and chopped

·         1 bunch white asparagus, stems trimmed 110g baby rocket

·         4 figs

·         250l good quality red wine

·         6tbsp white balsamic vinaigrette (recipe below)

·         2tbsp crumbled Stilton cheese

·         White balsamic vinaigrette

·         185ml white balsamic vinegar

·         125ml vegetable stock, thickened with a little Cornflour

·         1tbsp honey or agave syrup

·         1½tbsp Dijon mustard

·         3tbsp extra virgin olive

1. To make the vinaigrette, combine all ingredients except the oil in a small mixing bowl. Slowly whisk in the oil.
2. To make the salad, place the parsnip in a small saucepan, cover with 1cm of water and bring to a low boil. Cook until the parsnip is tender. Reserving the cooking liquid, place the parsnip in the bowl of a food processor and blend with enough cooking liquid to make a paste.
3. Transfer the parsnip purée to small bowl and set aside until ready to use.
4. Place the asparagus flat on a work surface, and one at a time, run a vegetable peeler from the tip nearly three-quarters of the way down to the bottom. Turn the spear over and repeat on the other side. Place the peeled asparagus in a bowl of cold water and repeat with the remaining spears. (The peeled asparagus can be kept refrigerated for up to 24 hours in advance.)
5. Place the figs and wine in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the figs are soft. Remove the figs from the pan with a slotted spoon and refrigerate until you are ready to serve. Continue cooking the wine until it’s reduced to a thick syrup of about 1 to 2 tablespoons. This should take about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the syrup cool before using.
6. To assemble the salad, drain the asparagus curls and pat dry on a clean cloth. Combine the rocket and asparagus in a medium bowl and toss with the vinaigrette.
7. Spoon 1 teaspoon of the parsnip purée into the centre of each of the four salad plates and place one quarter of the salad on top of it. Sprinkle about 1 ½ teaspoons of the cheese over each salad portion.
8. Carefully cut each fig in half and plate with the red wine reduction and serve.
9. Any leftover dressing may be kept refrigerated for up to 5 days and can be used on any salad greens of your choice.

Top tip

Placing the shaved asparagus spears in cold water causes them to curl into a pretty shape. White asparagus has distinct flavor that’s great in this salad, but green asparagus will curl better

Cranberry and pomegranate granita

Serves 16

875ml cranberry and pomegranate juice 125ml water

60ml lime juice

1 Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl. Transfer the mixture to a 20cm square pan. Freeze for at least 12hours. One frozen, scrape the surface of the Granita with a fork to give it a light, fluffy appearance. One the mixture is scraped, transfer the Granita to a smaller container. Cover, and freeze until ready to serve