ASPARAGUS, WATERCRESS AND GRAPEFRUIT SALAD

This is another of my salads where is have a wonderful array of seasonal ingredients which when combined creates a salad full of powerful flavours and textures.  The dressing is a mixture with  the tangy juice from the grapefruit and peppery olive oil. I finished it off with some crispy flatbreads and a crumble of goats cheese.  

Preparation time - 30 minutes

Cooking time - 15 minutes

Skill - easy

Serves 4

Ingredients

250g asparagus, tough ends discarded

1 grapefruit, peeled and pith removed

2 shallots, sliced thinly

250g watercress, tough stalks removed

100g goats cheese

1 flat bread, toasted until crispy, broken into bite sized pieces

Dressing

1 Tbsp grapefruit juice

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp honey

Pinch sea salt flakes and grind of cracked pepper

Method

Begin by preparing all the components for the salad.

Heat a griddle pan or heavy based pan over a moderate to high heat.  

Place the asparagus spears directly into the pan and grill until the asparagus goes a deep green and has a wonderful charred note (5 minutes). Remove and set aside.

Remove the segments from the grapefruit, keeping the juice.

Measure out the dressing ingredients and put into a small bowl.  Add the sliced shallots and let the shallots marinate in the dressing.

To assemble the salad. Layer up the ingredients on a serving platter.  Just before serving mix the dressing and pour over the salad, adding the pickled shallots.  Toss lightly and eat immediately.