Chargrilled Asparagus and Courgette Salad

This is quite a hearty salad and is plenty on its own. However, being a glutton for Ottolenghi's cuisine I incorporated this as a mere side dish to accompany the previously posted roast chicken offering. This isn't a Jamie Oliver throw it all together in 5 minutes salad, although it does make as much mess. Needless to say, there are an abundance of tastes and textures, all of which sing together in harmony. The recipe will feed around four for lunch or six as a vegetable dish for a dinner party. Cost is approx £1.50-£2.00 per head. Ottolenghi : The Cookbook

Ingredients : 350g cherry tomatoes halved, 140ml olive oil, 24 asparagus spears, 2 courgettes, 200g manouri / halloumi cheese cut into 2cm slices, 25g rocket, seasoning. For the Basil oil : 75ml olive oil, 1 chopped garlic glove, 25g basil, seasoning.

1. Pre-heat oven to 170 / gm 3. Mix the tomatoes with 3tbsp of the olive oil and season. Spread over a baking tray skin side down and slow roast for approx 50 minutes. The tomatoes just need to be semi-dried not cooked through so that they retain their shape. Leave to cool
2. In the meantime, you can prep the rest of the ingredients. Trim the bases off of the asparagus and blanch for 4 minutes. Drain and refresh under cold water until cool. Drain again and add to mixing bowl. Toss with 2tbsp of olive oil and season.
3. Slice the courgettes very thinly lengthwise. I use a mandolin (so you can trim your fingernails at the same time!). Again, toss with 1 tbsp of the olive oil and season.
4. Now it's time for some griddling. Heat the pan until hot and chargrill all of the veg, ensuring that they get nice char marks on either side. If the courgettes are too thin, they may stick. Once cooked, leave to cool. You may also need to wash down the griddle pan if things do become stuck. Cook the cheese off too, I actually grilled mine just to save time. Set aside.
5. To make the basil oil, whizz all the ingredients in a blender until smooth.
6. To serve, carefully arrange the vegetables in a pile on a large plate. Scatter some rocket randomly and drizzle with the basil oil.