Roasted Mushroom, Fennel & Grape Salad Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 medium fennel bulbs
• 500g pink grapes, seedless
• 500g white button mushrooms, sliced in half
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 300g mixed leaf lettuce of choice
• Handful Italian parsley leaves
• Handful fennel fronds, for garnish
• Salt and crushed pink peppercorns, to taste
• Olive oil, for cooking

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200˚C, fan on.
2. Slice the fennel bulbs into chunky thick slices.
3. Arrange the slices on a large baking tray in a single layer.
4. Drizzle a little olive oil over the fennel and season well with salt and pepper.  
5. Roast for about 25 minutes until the fennel is very tender and golden.
6. Remove the fennel from the baking tray and keep at room temperature. (If your oven is large enough you can roast all veg simultaneously)
7. Using scissors, slice grapes into small bunches.
8. Add the grapes to the baking tray and season with a little salt and pepper.
9. Bake for 10 minutes until just blistering.
10. Toss mushrooms in a bowl with the olive oil, garlic, red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard.
11. Season lightly and mix well.
12. Add the mushrooms to the roasting tray of grapes and continue to roast together until the mushrooms are tender and the grapes are soft and juicy. About 7 minutes.
13. Allow mushrooms and grapes to cool slightly to avoid making the lettuce wilt.

To serve:

1. Combine lettuce and parsley on a serving platter.
2. Tuck the roasted fennel amongst the leaves.
3. Dot the roasted grapes in little bunches all over the salad and finish with the mushrooms.
4. Drizzle over a little of the roasting juices as a dressing.
5. Garnish with pink peppercorns and fennel fronds and serve warm.