Salad of beetroot, oranges, fennel, olives, pomegranate and walnuts

Heat the oven to 200 Celsius. Wash the beetroots well, dry and rub each with a little olive oil. Put them in an ovenproof saucepan with a tight-fitting lid and bake until the beetroots are soft through when pierced with a sharp knife – about 40 minutes. Allow to cool.

In the meantime, slice the fennel as thinly as possible. Remove the seeds from half a pomegranate and remove the skin and pith from the oranges and thinly slice the flesh.

Mix the nuts in a bowl with just enough oil to coat them evenly, and season generously with salt and, if it’s your thing, a little chilli.

Make the dressing by chopping the orange and lemon zest very finely and mixing it with the juice and a little salt. Blend really well in a food processor or liquidiser. Next add a drizzle of oil and blend again. Now start tasting, and keep adding oil and salt until you really like the balance and taste of the dressing. Then add a few grinds of black pepper and give it another blending, followed by a final tasting, to make sure you are happy with it. It needs to be sharp and catch you slightly at the back of your mouth.

Finally, take a big serving dish, peel and slice the beets and arrange to your liking, followed by the oranges and fennel, and finish off with the olives, pomegranates and walnuts. Now scatter the leaves of the endive on top.

Pour the dressing over the dish just before serving.