Organic baby leaf salad with pickled romanesco, spelt and roasted walnuts

For the pickled Romanesco:
• 1 cup water
• 100 g Woolworths organic brown sugar
• ½ cup brown spirit vinegar
• Salt, a pinch
• 200 g Romanesco broccoli
For the salad:
• 1 200 g packet Woolworths organic baby leaf salad
• 100 g rhubarb, sliced with vegetable peeler
• 125 g Woolworths ready-to-eat spelt, warmed
• 1 x 35 g punnet Woolworths microleaf salad
• 50 g walnuts, toasted
For the dressing, whisk together:
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. To make the pickled Romanesco, heat the water, sugar, vinegar and salt until dissolved. Allow to cool.
2. Break the Romanesco into pieces, plate in a bowl and pour over the vinegar. Allow to cool.
3. To assemble, place the baby leaf salad, rhubarb and spelt in a bowl and toss with half the dressing. Pile the salad onto a platter and stud with the pickled Romanesco.
4. Scatter with the microleaf salad and walnuts and drizzle over the remaining dressing.

Cook's note: Wholegrains are incredibly versatile and a great building block for meals. Cook a big batch to use throughout the week in soups, salads with beautiful leaves and vegetables (like this one inspired by The Lost kitchen, thelostkitchen.tumblr.com) and grain bowls. They'll take you from a feelgood breakfast to an office lunch and a satisfying midweek supper. Just add veg, seeds, sliced chicken and a simple dressing.

Discover more sultry salad recipes here.