PERSIMMON, GOAT’S CHEESE & LAND CRESS SALAD

When persimmons are in season and ripe, this salad is so good and only takes 5 minutes. The best persimmons I’ve tried are from Sicily. Don’t try to make this with hard persimmons – it’s pointless. The goat’s cheese should be creamy and very soft – you should almost be able to spread it.

I always keep a large piece of bread in the freezer: if you take it out and leave it for 20 minutes to thaw slightly, you will be able to slice it very thinly (this works best with bread that’s not very wide).

This makes a great starter or light lunch or dinner.

FOR 4

8 sage leaves

60ml extra virgin olive oil, plus a little for the bread

around ¼ of a loaf (15cm) of frozen baguette or thin white bread, left for 20 minutes to defrost slightly

100g land cress (or something peppery like watercress or rocket)

4 very ripe persimmons

200g soft creamy goat’s cheese

freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 160–170°C.

Put the sage leaves into a saucepan and just cover with olive oil, then put on a very low heat. As soon as the oil is warm, turn the heat off and leave to infuse, stirring gently. Discard the leaves.

Cut the partially defrosted bread into eight very thin slices. Place on a lined baking tray and drizzle with a little olive oil, then bake until the bread is crispy on both sides.

Place the salad leaves on a plate and put the toasts on top.

Cut the persimmons in half – they should be deep orange and really juicy – then cut into wedges as well as you can. Cut the goat’s cheese to a similar size. Lift the persimmon halves carefully on to the toast slices and top with a slice of goat’s cheese. Drizzle the sage-infused oil over the top and season with black pepper.