Simple to make and flexible with main ingredients. Firstly make this awesome dressing which would go with other things too.

  • 50g cashew nuts

Boil 3 minutes. Add

  • 2 garlic cloves

Boil 2 minutes more. Drain, remove garlic skins and add to a blender (stick blender is best) with

  • Juice of a lemon
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • half a cucumber

Zap. Add the other half of a cucumber and zap again. You can experiment by adding herbs – tarragon, chives, etc but I am not sure that is necessary.

For the salad – you can swap vegetables around but I used the following:

  • Red cabbage, cut into thin slices including the core so it stays together as a “steak”
  • Sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
  • Courgette, sliced
  • oil

Fry in a hot pan until charred. Transfer to an oven 180C fan, season  and roast 30 minutes. Less if your charring took a while. Take them out when soft all the way through, and cool for a bit. Meanwhile…

  • Broccoli florets
  • Chives chipped or spring onions in 3 cm lengths

In the same pan, add a  bit more oil then toss the broccoli and chives around and char until bright green with charred bits. They should be still crunchy but not raw. Remove.

  • Tofu (vegan) or halloumi (vegetarian)

In the same pan, sear until browned.

  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Lettuce hearts, quartered

Arrange the roasted and seared items with the fresh items in a  tasteful display on your platter. Serve with the sauce.

You could also try asparagus, treated like the broccoli; button mushrooms left whole and fried with garlic and herbs in olive oil; swede or parsnip treated like the sweet potato.