Serves: 4

I whipped up this salad a few years back and it was great. I did it again a few weeks ago and it was just as good. Time to type it up, right?!

It is originally from Gourmet Traveller whose recipes have always seemed slightly adventurous and daunting to me; though which have almost always turned out fabulous, much like this recipe.

Make Saturday lunch special and give this dish a go.

P.S. I used Neil Perry’s aioli recipe and have included it below.

Ingredients

1 celeriac (500gm), diced
2 tbsp olive oil
100gm walnuts
170gm seedless black grapes, halved
1 celery heart, thinly sliced, leaves reserved
3 golden shallots, thinly sliced
140gm good-quality aïoli*
Juice of 1-2 lemons
1 tsp Champagne or Dijon mustard

To serve: crusty baguette

Roast chicken

1 chicken (1.5kg) (cornfed if you can)
4 thyme sprigs
2 garlic cloves, bruised
1 tbsp olive oil

*Aioli (Neil Perry)

3 egg yolks
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Sea salt
2 tbsp lemon juice
375ml half olive oil and half extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground white pepper

Method

1. For the aioli: Put a saucepan large enough to hold a stainless steel bowl on a bench. Place a tea towel around the inside edge of the pan and place the bowl on top of the pan to hold it steady while you whisk.
2. Put the yolks in the bowl and whisk. Add the garlic, sea salt and lemon juice and while whisking, slowly drizzle in the oil. As the emulsion starts to form, add the oil in a steady stream. Don’t let the oil sit on the surface as this can cause the aioli to split. Add a grind of pepper and check for salt and lemon juice.
3. Or do all of this in a food processor, starting with all the ingredients but the oil and then drizzling the oil in slowly with the motor running.
4. For the roast chicken: Preheat oven to 180C. Rinse chicken inside and out and pat dry with absorbent paper. Season to taste inside and out, place in a roasting pan, stuff cavity with thyme and garlic and drizzle skin with oil. Roast until chicken is golden and cooked through (1-1¼ hours).
5. Meanwhile, cook celeriac in a saucepan of salted boiling water until tender (3-5 minutes). Drain well, then transfer to a large bowl.
6. Heat oil in a small frying pan over medium heat, add walnuts and stir occasionally until golden (2-4 minutes). Drain, cool and add to celeriac with grapes, celery and shallot.
7. Coarsely shred chicken (discard skin, bones and sinew) and add to bowl. Add aïoli, lemon juice to taste and mustard, season to taste and toss to combine. Scatter with celery leaves and serve with crusty baguette.