Fennel, celery and apple with creamy almond dressing

From Gelf Alderson’s ‘River Cottage Great Salads’ (out now – Bloomsbury Publishing, £20).

This salad is delicious on its own, it’s also a lovely accompaniment to grilled fish. The dressing goes with almost anything and keeps in the fridge for a week, so I often make a double batch. Try dunking lettuce leaves into it... delicious.

Serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side

50g almonds (skin on), roughly chopped

2 crisp eating apples, e.g. Gala or Cox 2 fennel bulbs

5 celery sticks

A handful of pea shoots (about 40g) For the almond dressing

100g almonds (skin on)

150ml almond milk or water

1 orange

60ml extra virgin olive oil

30ml cider vinegar

1 small garlic clove, peeled

Sea salt and black pepper

■ First make the dressing, a day ahead if you can. Put the almonds into a bowl, pour on the almond milk or water, cover and leave to soak overnight. (Or put the almonds in a pan with the liquid, cover and place over a low heat for 15-20 minutes to slightly soften them then leave to cool.)

■ Cut a thin slice from the top and bottom of the orange then stand it on a board and slice off the skin and white pith. Cut the orange segments out from between the membranes, remove any pips then place in a jug blender. Add the olive oil, cider vinegar, garlic and softened almonds to the blender along with any remaining soaking liquor. Blitz to form a smooth dressing. If it’s a little too thick, add almond milk or water 1 tbsp at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

■ Place a small frying pan over a medium heat, add the chopped almonds and heat, stirring occasionally, until they start to take on some colour and release their nutty aroma. Tip onto a plate and allow to cool.

■ Quarter, core and dice the apples into very small cubes and place in a large bowl. Quarter the fennel bulbs, cut into 5mm thick slices and add to the bowl. Finely slice the celery into 5mm slices and add these too. Add half of the pea shoots to the salad, then trickle over the dressing and toss until all the veg are nicely coated.

■ Transfer the salad to a serving platter and scatter over the remaining pea shoots and toasted almonds to serve.

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