Warm spring vegetable salad with bacon vinaigrette

Method

1. For the bacon vinaigrette: heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the bacon until crispy. Drain the bacon and reserve the cooking oil.

2. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and mustard, then whisk in the olive oil until the mixture forms an emulsion. Crumble in the bacon and add the chopped herbs.

3. Preheat the oven to 150C/gas 2.

4. Slice the tomato and put on a baking dish. Sprinkle it with the crushed garlic, thyme and a little olive oil.

5. Bake in the low oven for about 2 hours until dehydrated – the tomatoes will collapse and the flavour will become more intense.

6. Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the parsnips, carrots and rosemary sprigs and cook until the vegetables are just tender. Remove from the water and drain well.

7. Heat a little olive oil in a heavy-based pan and fry the blanched vegetables until golden.

8. Remove the pan from the heat, then add the sugar and a splash of vinegar to deglaze the pan. Add the wild garlic and stir until wilted.

9. In a heavy-based frying pan, reheat the reserved bacon cooking oil until hot. Add the cabbage and garlic and cook until the cabbage is just tender.

10. To serve, build the tomatoes, vegetables and cabbage into a pile on a plate and drizzle over the vinaigrette. Sprinkle with a little red-veined sorrel.