A salad with truffles and a mushroom pie of sorts

Nicked from Bocca Di Lupo, a valentine's day salad seemed like a good excuse for us to try some of the truffles waiting in the cupboard.

• radish
• celeriac or kohlrabi at a push
• truffle or truffle oil
• pecorino or parmesan
• pomegranate

Slice the veg as thin as possible and artfully strew with pomegranate seeds (is seeds the right word?) and lashings of parmesan. Drizzle over the truffle oil and/or slice the truffle on top. Top up with some extra virgin and a splash of red wine vinegar.

When I've had this salad at the restaurant I think they also put parsley in it which is a good clean, green addition. The first time it combined normal radishes and slices of a giant black type and the second time radish with celeriac. Could it also work with mooli perhaps? I couldn't lay my hands on any celeriac so went for kohlrabi, remembering Bread & Wine doing something nice with it sliced raw and thin and dotted with a lemony oil. In truth I think it's a pretty rubbish vegetable but in thin slices it can at least lend a welcome crunch.

And then a supreme mushroom pie (kind of).

• mixture of fresh musrooms
• dried porcini
• tin of those small and slimy Italian ones found sometime in antipasto
• onion or leeks
• double cream
• sage, garlic, Dijon mustard and drop of balsamic vinegar

Blind bake some pastry pie-bottoms in remekins.

Fry the onions slowly for half and hour with some butter until really soft. Rehydrate the dried mushrooms in boiling water. Add sage and garlic to onion mix and fry, then add the fresh mushrooms. When their leatheriness had gone add the refreshed porcini with their juice and then the cream and vineger. Correct seasoning, add to the pastry shells and bake. The sage, cream and mushroom combo is the business!
 

 A fine dinner with some mash and veg

Happy valentine's day team.