Baby Vegetable Salad with Persian Fetta and Hazelnut Dressing

Preheat the oven to 100ºC. Arrange the cherry tomatoes on a baking tray and place in the oven for 2 hours or until semi-dried. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and blanch the vegetables until just tender: the baby carrots and fennel will need about 3-–5 minutes, while the asparagus tips and peas should only take 1–2 minutes. Drain the vegetables and refresh under cold running water.

To make the hazelnut dressing, combine the garlic, mustard, vinegar and honey in a bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil until emulsified, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

To prepare the baby beetroot, place the sugar, vinegar and 500 ml of water in a saucepan and bring to the boil.

Add the beetroot and simmer for 10–15 minutes or until tender, then leave to cool in the liquid. When they are cool enough to handle, peel the beetroot with your fingers (use disposable gloves if you want to avoid stained hands!), then cut them into quarters.

For the saffron potatoes, place the potatoes, saffron and a generous pinch of salt in a saucepan with plenty of water. Bring to the boil and cook the potatoes for 10–15 minutes or until tender. Leave to cool, then cut into 1 cm slices.

To prepare the shimeji mushrooms, place all the ingredients except the mushrooms in a saucepan, add 250 ml water and bring to the boil. Add the mushrooms, then immediately remove from the heat and leave the mushrooms to cool in the liquid before draining.

Very gently toss the vegetables, mushrooms, herbs, zucchini flowers and hazelnuts together in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of the hazelnut dressing, then arrange on a large plate. Crumble the fetta over the vegetables, drizzle with a little more of the hazelnut dressing and season to taste with salt and pepper.