Recipes

Marinated feta – this is always better done the day before. Cut the feta into mini cubes and place into a small bowl. Mix together the oil, chilli, lemon (boil the lemon in the maple syrup for 5 minutes- cool), sprinkle with cracked black pepper. Cover and chill until needed. You will need to take it out of the fridge an hour before you use it.

Next the pickled vegetables. Prepare the florets of cauliflower and broccoli cutting mini florets to resemble tiny plants. Cut the carrot into thin slices and cut out with a cutter to form a frilly edge, if you don’t have a cutter, cut slices in half and cut a little frill edge by hand. Cut the radish into thin slices and then in half. Place all the prepared vegetables in a bowl. Heat the vinegar with the bay, peppercorns and maple syrup, bring to the boil, then pour over the vegetables. Cool, cover and chill.

To make the puree, place everything in a processor and blitz to form a smooth paste. Taste and adjust with seasoning and lemon so you have a yummy well rounded flavour.

Finally the nut soil. This needs to be done fresh on the day. Dry roast the nuts in a pan until they are golden, add the sesame seeds and cook until everything is deep golden. Cool slightly and then process in a blender to create a nutty soil.

To assemble, first make sure everything is at room temperature apart from the pickles which can be used straight from the fridge. Divide the pure between 4 serving plates, using the back of a spoon ease the puree out to create the base of your garden. Sprinkle the nut soil over to cover. Then plant your pickled vegetables, parsley leaves, alfalfa and feta cubes to create your pretty winter garden.