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Winter Vegetable Salad

From Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets, http://www.raymondblanc.com/
This is lovely way to cook and present your seasonal vegetables, using what is available and as local as possible you can maximise the vitamins, minerals, flavour and textures. All elements of this dish can be cooked a day in advance and re-heated to order.

For the pumpkin puree
250g pumpkin, peeled & cut into 2cm dice – Muscat de Provence or Iron Bar, seeds reserved
2 tsp olive oil
2 pinches sea salt
2 pinches freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp hazelnut oil
For the pumpkin discs & beetroot
4 pumpkin discs, cut 3cm round & high
2 tbsp olive oil
1 Candy beetroot, washed, quartered and steamed until tender
1 Golden beetroot, washed, quartered and steamed until tender
1 Ruby beetroot, washed, quartered and steamed until tender
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
For the sauce
100ml ruby port
100ml red wine
1 small handful baby beet leaves
For the mushroom fricassee
100g mixed mushrooms - Chanterelles, Girolles and Trompettes
1 squeeze lemon juice
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
10g flat leaf parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped
For the garnish
8 parsnip ribbons, deep fried
12 sage leaves, deep fried
12 pickled baby shallots

For the pumpkin puree
1 In a medium sized saucepan on a medium heat, gently cook the pumpkin in the olive oil, with a little seasoning and lemon juice for 5 minutes.
2 Turn the heat up, cover with a tight fitting lid and cook for 10 minutes until tender.
3 Blitz the pumpkin in a food blender until it’s a very fine puree.
4 Spoon into a bowl, taste, correct the seasoning and add the extra virgin and hazelnut oil to finish.
5 Set aside until ready to serve.

For the pumpkin discs & beetroot
1 Preheat your oven to 170°C/325F/Gas 3.
2 Using a small turning knife, take the edges off the pumpkin discs to create small barrels.
3 Heat the olive in a small frying pan, add the pumpkin discs and fry for 1-2 minutes on 1 side to caramelise.
4 Place in the oven and cook for 7-10 minutes until golden and tender.
5 Toss the cooked beetroot with the extra virgin olive oil, and a little salt and black pepper in a small saucepan and warm through.

For the sauce
1 Heat a frying pan until hot, add the port, flame then cook until reduced by half. N.B. Reduce the wines until they coat the back of your spoon; taste and add a little caster sugar if the concentrated tannins of the wines becomes too overpowering.

For the mushroom fricassee
1 This should be cooked at the last moment when you are ready to plate up.
2 Heat a frying pan until hot, add the olive oil, beet leaves and chanterelle mushrooms.
3 Add a squeeze of lemon juice and sauté for 1 minute then cover and cook for 1 minute.
4 Add the girolles and sauté for 30 seconds with the lid on.
5 Add the trompette and cook for 5 seconds.
6 Season and add the parsley.

To finish the dish
1 Spoon the puree into the centre of a rectangular plate and drag along to cover the centre strip.
2 Place 3 beetroot wedges along the puree.
3 Place the roasted pumpkin discs either end of the puree.
4 Spoon the beet leaves and mushrooms along either side.
5 Top with some parsnip crisps and deep fried sage leaves.
6 Drizzle the wine reduction over the top and finish with a few pickled shallots

VARIATIONS: This dish can be made all year round by using the best seasonal vegetables. Replace the beetroot, pumpkin and onions with carrots, celeriac, Jerusalem artichokes, new season garlic cloves, butternut squash, Grelot onions, small red thai shallots. Use seasonal mushrooms, Ceps, giroles, chanterelles, Trompettes, morels, oyster, pied bleu.