What I love about this salad is both the beautiful flavour and the differing textures. I have used white oyster mushrooms from Basil’s Fungi Farm, but equally a brown chestnut would work well too. 

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C

2. Lay out the squash on an olive oil lined baking tray, mix to ensure all the squash is oiled and then season. Cook for 30-40 mins. Allow to cool a little, but keep warm.

3. Line a baking sheet with non-stick baking parchment.  Combine the maple syrup, smoked paprika and the nuts. Spread over the baking tray and cook for 8-10 mins in a preheated oven. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

4. When near to serving – fry the mushrooms at a high heat to get golden and crispy. Season with a little salt. 

5. Mix the hot mushrooms and squash in bowl with some leaves, and tbsp of the dressing, plus some of the cheese.

6. Plate your salad by popping more leaves on plate. Add some dressing and toss through.  Place the warm vegetables over next. 

Add more cheese. 

Finally top with the caramelised nuts.

For the dressing:
(These are approximate measures – adjust as to whether you prefer more or less vinegar, sweetness etc.)

Put all the ingredients in a jar and shake to create a thick dressing.

Basil’s Fungi Farm is a sustainable mushroom farm that specialises in gourmet mushrooms and grow kits for home cultivation. Their selection includes Lion’s Mane, Oyster (white, pink, blue, golden, brown, and king varieties), Coral Tooth, Pioppino, and other seasonal or native cultivars. You can buy online at basilsfungifarm.com and find them at this month’s Wealden Times Midsummer Fair (11-13 June) wealdentimes-fair.co.uk.