Potato and asparagus salad with black garlic and dukkah
It’s hard to describe the unique flavour of black garlic in comparison to its sharp and pungent raw form, but it’s sort of like a balsamic-liquorice-flavoured jelly baby, if such a thing existed. Here it’s transformed into a dramatic-looking puree, which elevates this spring salad to wonderful heights.
Prep
25 min
Cook
50 min
Serving size
2 as a main, 4 as a side
Ingredients
200g new potatoes, scrubbed clean
4 thyme sprigs
5g mint leaves
300g thick-stemmed asparagus, woody ends trimmed
2 tbsp olive oil
1½ tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp dill leaves, picked
2 tbsp dukkah, store bought, or homemade
Pickled shallots:
1 banana shallot, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds (40g)
1½ tsp apple cider vinegar
¼ tsp fennel seeds, toasted and roughly crushed in a pestle and mortar
1/4 tsp dried hibiscus leaves, finely ground (optional)
½ tsp caster sugar
Black garlic puree:
80g black garlic
1½ tbsp rose harissa
2 tbsp lemon juice
Fine sea salt and black pepper
Method
1. Preheat the oven to its highest grill setting and ventilate your kitchen well.
2. Place the potatoes, thyme and half the mint in a large saucepan and pour over enough water to cover by about 3 centimetres. Salt the water well and bring to a boil over a high heat, then turn down to medium-high and simmer for 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Drain through a colander set over the sink and leave to cool completely. Pick out and discard the herbs.
3. Meanwhile, place the asparagus on a roasting tray with 1 tablespoon of oil, ¼ teaspoon salt and a good grind pepper and mix to combine. Grill in the oven for 4-6 minutes, or until charred but with a slight bite. Set aside to cool.
4. Make the pickled shallots by mixing all the ingredients together in a small bowl with ⅛ teaspoon of salt. Set aside to pickle gently.
Add all the black garlic puree ingredients to a food processor with 60ml of warm water and ⅛ teaspoon of salt and blitz into a fine puree, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Spread the black garlic puree onto a large, lipped plate.
5. Add the potatoes, asparagus, pickled shallots, lemon juice, dill, remaining mint and last tablespoon of oil to a large bowl and toss to combine. Place on top of the puree and sprinkle over the dukkah.
