Hot cheeseboard salad with honey–walnut dressing

Servings:

I love roasting grapes: the flavour becomes magically meaty and broody, which makes them a perfect candidate for a trans-seasonal salad. You can serve this up in autumn with the grapes cooled, or keep them warm for winter. The gorgonzola pops against the acidity of the sticky sherry vinegar, which is reminiscent of a sticky wine you’d drink with a cheese board. If you’re in the market for sherry vinegar, I like Jerez, or if you can find a PX (Pedro Ximénez) vinegar charge at it like a bull at a red rag! Roasting the radicchio, and including a creamy, funky cheese plus acidic dressing, helps to mitigate its bitterness.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 220°C (430°F) or 200°C (400°F) fan forced. Pop the walnuts on a baking tray and straight into the preheating oven, then set the timer for 5 minutes. Check on them at this point and give them a few more minutes if they need it, as heating speeds will vary.
Make the sticky sherry vinegar by popping the vinegar and honey in a small saucepan, bringing to a boil, then dropping to a simmer for 10 minutes or until glossy and syrupy. Give it the odd check to make sure it doesn’t burn. When you’ve got about ¼ cup (60 ml) left, turn off the heat. Leave in the pot.
Cut the radicchio into wedges, still attached at the stalk. Tear cavolo nero off its stalk, then roughly tear again into fork-sized flaps. Tear the grapes off their vine and into a baking dish along with the shallot wedges and radicchio. Stir together the olive oil, sherry vinegar and honey to form a glossy drizz and pour over the tray, using your hands to help twist and coat. Pop the cavolo nero on a second tray and dress with a tablespoon of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt flakes.
Transfer both into the oven, the purple tray on top and the green below. After 5 minutes, pull out the cavolo nero tray (crispy and still deep green) and remove the radicchio from the top of the purple tray. Roast the grapes and shallots for another 10 minutes until the grapes are blistered and shiny and the shallots have completely relaxed.
Pour any remaining tray juices into the sticky sherry vinegar to loosen (if there aren’t any juices, splash in a teaspoon or so of water), then reheat slightly to help incorporate.
Arrange the roasted veg and grapes on a serving platter. Pour the sticky sherry vinegar over the top of the arranged fruit and veg. Crumble the gorgonzola on top, along with the roasted walnuts, and finish with a final flourish of extra virgin olive oil.