Pickled Rhubarb, Chicory, Toasted Hazelnut & Westcombe Ricotta salad

A delicious seasonal salad to celebrate Rhubarb! Recipie by The Farm Table head chef, Tom.

Difficulty:

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Serves: 2

Pickled Rhubarb, Chicory, Toasted Hazelnut and Westcombe Ricotta salad Image 1

Pickled Rhubarb, Chicory, Toasted Hazelnut and Westcombe Ricotta salad Image 2

Dietry Information

Gluten Free

Related Tags

Seasonality

Ingredients

2 sticks of rhubarb (forced will be more tender)
50g of toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
2 heads of chicory
100g of Westcombe ricotta.
Zest of 1orange
20g of Dijon mustard
50ml of red wine vinegar
100-200ml of veg/rapeseed/olive oil (not extra virgin)

For the pickle

2 sticks of Rhubarb
1 sterile glass jar that can be air tight sealed
250ml of Pebblebed red wine
250ml of red wine vinegar
125g of sugar
Salt
Black pepper
1 star anise
1 bay leaf
2 cloves

Method

Up to a month before or at least two days before pickle the rhubarb.
To do this first wash the rhubarb, cut the top leaves and bottoms off, put two sticks of rhubarb aside for later, then cut down the remaining two sticks to lengths that will fit in your glass jar.
Now in a medium sized sauce pan, put 250ml of red wine, 250ml of red wine vinegar, 125g of sugar, the bay leaf, the star anise, the cloves and a pinch of salt and pepper, bring this mix to the boil then remove from the heat. The sugar should be fully dissolved.
Pour the pickling liquid in to the glass jar while still warm and seal the lid. This will part pickle and part cook the rhubarb, make sure the rhubarb is covered by the liquid.
With the remaining two sticks of rhubarb cut them down, place them in a sauce pan and cover with water, simmer till the rhubarb is very soft and the water is almost gone.
Once cold, blend the cooked rhubarb in a food processor till smooth. Now add the mustard and 50ml of red wine vinegar and blend, slowly add in the oil till the mix thickens. This will be your dressing.
Open the ricotta and drain of any liquid, in a bowl mix in salt, black pepper and the orange zest to taste. Put to one side.
Break your chicory down into leaves and wash in cold water, let dry. Cut your pickled rhubarb in to thin slices.
In a bowl mix your chicory leaves with the sliced pickled rhubarb and a good spoonful of the rhubarb dressing, serve on a plate and sprinkle over the rough chopped hazelnuts and spoon on the ricotta. Enjoy!