Radicchio salad with verjus roasted quince, rosemary, walnuts and blue cheese

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the quince:
1 large quince, peeled and cut in 8 wedges (seeds left in)
1/4 cup verjus
1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon honey
2 bay leaves (use 1 if using fresh)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
pinch salt

For the pumpkin:
Approximately 400g pumpkin, peeled, seeds removed and thinly sliced
1 Tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper

For the vinaigrette:
2.5 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon honey
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small shallot, peeled and finely diced
Salt and black pepper

For the salad:
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive oil
1/4 cup cup rosemary leaves (loosely packed)
pinch salt
Small drizzle of honey
1 small head radicchio, leaves separated, washed and dried well
30g-40g blue cheese like gorgonzola dolce or stilton

Method:

Preheat your oven to 190C (170C fan forced).

In a small roasting dish combine the quince wedges, the verjus, vinegar, honey, olive oil and bay leaves with a pinch of salt. Cover tightly with aluminium foil and bake for one hour. After one hour, uncover and gently flip the quince in the pan. The liquid should be a bit glazey and reduced by now but let it roast and reduce a bit more, about 10-15 minutes. Allow the quince to cool. When cooled, cut the seeds and the hard core out of the quince using a small pairing knife and then set aside. I find this easiest to do after they are cooked but feel free to do ahead, if you like.

Leave your oven at that temperature and you can simultaneously roast the pumpkin alongside the quince. Toss the sliced pumpkin with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Roast on a parchment lined tray for about 20 minutes or until the pumpkin is cooked through and has turned golden brown.

Make the vinaigrette by combining all the ingredients in a jar and shaking it up.

To prepare the rosemary and walnuts, heat a small fry pan on the stove over medium heat. Add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and when its hot, add the chopped walnuts and sizzle them in the oil until they turn golden. Add the rosemary leaves for the last 20 seconds of cooking and then turn the heat off. Drizzle a tiny bit of honey over the walnuts and sprinkle them with a pinch of salt. Set aside.

Place the radicchio leaves on a platter and assemble the pumpkin and quince amongst the slices. Drizzle the vinaigrette all over the salad and then sprinkle the top with the walnut and rosemary crumble and the crumbled blue cheese. Taste a bite with everything on it and sprinkle with flaky sea salt and black pepper as needed.