vegetable salad
- green asparagus
- runner beans
- fine beans (green and yellow)
- purple sprouting broccoli

Kostas Papathanasiou
This seasonal vegetable salad recipe by Kostas Papathanasiou, culinary director at Michelin-starred Lita in Marylebone, is a refined spring and summer starter built around asparagus, beans and purple sprouting broccoli.
vegetable salad
Prepare the seasonal vegetables by trimming as needed.
Blanch each vegetable separately in well-salted boiling water until just tender, keeping its natural texture and colour.
Refresh in ice water, then drain and reserve.
hazelnut & truffle praline
Lightly pulse the roasted hazelnuts with the hazelnut oil to create a coarse paste, taking care not to over-blend.
Fold through the finely chopped black truffle and reserve.
mushroom emulsion
Blend the egg yolk, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and mushroom powder together.
Slowly emulsify with the olive oil until smooth and stable.
Adjust the seasoning if needed.
truffle dressing
Combine the extra virgin olive oil, rapeseed oil, Dijon mustard, chopped truffle, white wine vinegar, lemon juice and salt.
Blend with a hand blender until emulsified.
Taste and adjust the acidity if required.
finish
Gently dress the blanched seasonal vegetables with the chives, shallots, truffle dressing and citrus segments.
Spread 30g of hazelnut and truffle praline on the base of each plate.
Add 30g of mushroom emulsion.
Arrange the dressed vegetables on top.
Finish with finely grated parmesan.
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