Kohlrabi with apple, mint, hazelnuts, and formaggio di fossa

SERVES 4

“Kohlrabi mimics the sweetness and especially the texture of apples,” says Mattos. “Aside from taking care to slice the two main ingredients evenly, there’s not much to worry about here; it’s going to be excellent. The best time to prepare this is late summer or early autumn, when apples are crisp and kohlrabi begins to sweeten, but you can proceed with it into winter.” Pictured p108.

½ cup skinned hazelnuts

60 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin olive oil

Grey salt (see note)

2 small kohlrabi (tennis ball sized)

1 crisp vibrant, acidic apple, such as Jazz

Finely grated zest of 2 lemons plus 2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp chardonnay vinegar ½ cup (loosely packed) mint leaves (large leaves torn) 2 tbsp pickling liquid from pickled Thai chillies (see recipe opposite) Formaggio di Fossa (see note), for shaving

1 Preheat oven to 165°C. Spread hazelnuts on a small baking tray and roast, shaking the pan halfway, until golden (10 minutes; don’t let them get too dark). Cool, then crush with the bottom of a heavy pan to fine crumbs with some chunky bits.

2 Transfer hazelnuts to a small bowl and toss with 2 tbsp olive oil and a good pinch of grey salt. Set aside.

3 Peel and trim kohlrabi, very thinly slice with a knife or on a mandoline, then wrap in damp paper towels.

4 Peel the apple, cut it into 6mm-thick slices of varying shapes (we usually start slicing from one side, then lay the apple on the resulting flat side and continue slicing from there). 5 Transfer kohlrabi and apple to a bowl and toss with lemon zest, lemon juice and vinegar and sea salt flakes to taste. Add mint and toss to combine.

6 Drizzle remaining olive oil and the pickling liquid evenly onto 2 plates. Stack a quarter of the apples and kohlrabi over each puddle in an organic fashion (imagine a trifle). Top with hazelnuts, then stack on remaining apples and kohlrabi, followed by remaining nuts.

7 Use a microplane (or the large holes of a box grater) to cover the salad with a good layer of cheese and serve.

Note Grey salt, also known as sel gris or Celtic sea salt, is available from select health-food shops. Formaggio di Fossa is available from select delicatessens. Substitute a good-quality pecorino.