Roast Winter vegetable salad, hay smoked beetroot hummus, camel Persian feta, finger lime carrot vodka vinaigrette.

Glen Barratt is the executive chef at Wild Canary restaurant located within the Brookfield Garden Centre.  We’re thrilled that he is one of our Scenic Rim Regional Food Ambassadors.  At this year’s Winter Harvest Festival, Glen created this winter salad on stage proving once and for all that you absolutely can make friends with salad.

He has kindly shared his recipe with us for you to try at home.

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 tablespoons oil

2 wedges Kalfresh Vegetables Kent pumpkin, seeds removed

5 Dutch carrots

5 Valley Pride heritage carrots

6 mixed Valley Pride golden and target beetroot

1 small fennel bulb cut in half

150 grams Kalfresh Vegetables green beans

½ cup watercress

½ cup curly parsley

120 g Summer Land Camel Farm Persian feta

60 grams roast Greenlee Farm macadamia nuts

60 grams roast pumpkin and sunflower seeds

Pansies and violas to garnish

Salt and pepper

METHOD

Using a vegetable peeler shave 1 of each​ of the carrots to produce long ribbons continuing the peel through the top . Place shavings in ice water. Using a mandolin thinly sliced 1 of each of the beetroot. Cut the remaining beetroot in half.

Heat grill to a moderate temperature, lightly oil and cook pumpkin, whole carrots , beetroot halves and fennel until coloured. Transfer to a roasting tray and cook in a  moderate oven for 10 minutes or until cooked through. Blanch beans in a pot of water until bright green but still firm.

To serve place some beetroot hummus on plate and spread across the plate. Cover with​ ¾ of the watercress. Arrange pumpkin, carrots, beetroot, fennel and beans over top . Sprinkle roast macadamia nuts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds across plate and top salad with the shaved carrot and sliced beetroot. Break Persian feta apart and place through salad. Splash vinaigrette over and around the salad. Sprinkle with flowers.

Hay smoked beetroot hummus

2 generous handfuls of hay

4 medium red beetroot

2 cups cooked chickpeas

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons tahini

¼ cup extra virgin olive

Salt and pepper

Place hay into a small deep roasting tray and nestle beetroot into the hay. Cover tray with foil sealing edges then peel back two corners. Set hay on fire lifting with tongs to ensure it is well lit. Quickly fold lifted edges of foil down and seal well trapping in smoke. Place in a moderate oven and roast for 30 minutes or until beetroot is cooked through. Remove beetroot from hay and remove skin. Cut into 1/4s and place into a food processor and blend. Add chickpeas, lemon juice and zest, garlic and tahini and continue to blend until smooth. Slowly add olive oil whilst bending and season with salt and pepper.

Finger lime carrot vodka vinaigrette

3 tablespoons Flinders Peak Winery carrot vodka

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

pulp or vesicles of 2 finger limes from The Lime Caviar Company

1 teaspoon honey

Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until combined.