A Late February Zinger Salad to See You Into Spring

Here is a seasonal version of a shredded Thai salad using raw crown prince pumpkin, golden beets and persimmon. While you can keep it vegan if you wish, this salad is taken to the top-tier by the addition of dried shrimps that plump up in the dressing and give a moreish texture and oceanic back note. To elevate still, add crispy fried shallots, readily found pre-made in the specialist sections of any supermarket. Red-skinned peanuts roasted in the oven add great texture and flavour contrast, as do flakes of dried coconut. You should ad-lib based on your mood for the day; get in your feels.

Grating fresh turmeric into clementine and lime juice with lots of honey, balanced with fish sauce, gives the whole thing a delicious and anti-inflammatory edge. Packed with tons of nutrients and seasonal goodness, this salad is a bright late February zinger to see you into spring. 

Shout out to Hing Yip Oriental Holloway Road and to my no1 local grocer Seasons and Blossoms on Blackstock Road for the realest produce that truly glows.

Ingredients for two portions
Half crown prince pumpkin – shredded raw with mandolin 
1 golden beetroot – shredded raw with mandolin
1 persimmon – sliced into segments
1 heritage tomato – I used purple! Cut into segments
Half a bunch of coriander – picked and refreshed
6-8 mint leaves – picked
1 jalapeno
1 whole red chilli
1 whole green chilli
1 spring onion 

For the dressing:
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1 clementine
20g fresh turmeric
Three Crabs fish sauce, to taste 
Honey to taste
Good olive oil

Additions
100g dried shrimps
50g fried shallots 
20g coconut flakes 
50g red skinned peanuts (roasted until hot in the oven and seasoned)

Method
– Preheat oven and roast peanuts at 170 degrees C for seven minutes until skins turn a deep red. Season. 

– Peel your pumpkin and golden beetroot and shred on the shredding setting of a mandolin, or if you have one, a julienne peeler. If you have neither, take your sweet time, practicing your knife skills to julienne yourself into Saturday.

– Keep the shredded raw vegetables in cool water to preserve the freshness.  

To make the dressing 
– Grate fresh turmeric using a microplane into the juice of a whole lime and a whole clementine. Using your powers of intuition, add enough honey and fish sauce until you find your balance – think about making a mojito with regards to lime sugar balance and enough fish sauce to give it the right savouriness in the end. Bind with good extra virgin olive oil. 

Building the salad
– Add all your shredded raw vegetables, permission and tomatoes, chillies and spring onion into a large bowl, then add 2/3 of the herbs.

– Sprinkle in your dried shrimps, coconut flakes, peanuts and dried shallots. And into a large salad mixing bowl, add all of the dressing and toss to coat all components of the salad. 

– Serve onto a plate, reserving some peanuts, coconut flakes and shallots, coriander and mint to garnish. 

Serve with a pair of ice cold beers from the fridge.

Hannah Hammond is a London-based chef currently working at Leo’s on Chatsworth Road. Photography by Hannah Hammond.