Recipe + pairing | Angela Clutton's Autumn Salad: beetroot, fig, blackberry, radicchio and hazelnut

Seasoning by Angela Sutton (available now) features 75 delicious recipes matched to the rhythm of the seasons, celebrating the best produce available and featuring tips on how to avoid wastage, year round.

This gorgeous Autumn salad brings all the colours of the cooler months to your table, and tastes just as incredible too. And the wines to match? Sure, we’ve got a few ideas…

Pairing tip: “Pinot noir or nebbiolo. It’s close to a no-brainer - something that has a great line of acid, but with depth and rusticity to complement the more earthly beetroot and radicchio. Plus they’ve got the fruit to run shoulder-to-shoulder with the figs here as well. Proceed carefully - it’s likely to be moreish.” - Nick

Try this with:

Pinot Noir 2019 – Black Market Deal #48632

Palpably exciting pinot, a pure Mornington gem. With a ripe raspberry fullness, hints of cola and violet, and a brooding, mushroom-y core, this is what we call complexity. A pinot noir garnering plenty of attention from wine reviewers and mofos alike. Generous in style, this pinot sees all the T.L.C you could ever give, from a winemaker who doesn’t shy away from flavour, oak and intensity. With a good whack of new oak, the fruit handles itself well, offering layers of flavours from a couple of years in bottle. Ultimately, this wine is so detailed and delicious, every wine lover will adore. Endless quality, from the magnificent Mornington.

Ettore Germano Barolo DOCG del Comune di Serralunga d'Alba 2017

Stunning nebbiolo from the 'longest lived' commune of Barolo. The 2017 vintage was not without its challenges for Barolo. But the top producers were able to craft incredible wines and this comes across so clearly in Ettore Germano’s Barolo del Comune di Serralunga d’Alba. In the glass, the colour is a bright ruby garnet. The nose opens up quickly with strawberry, cherry, pomegranate and rose petals. After the few years it already has had in bottle, hints of leather and tobacco have integrated with the dark fruits evident on the palate. The tannins are fine, readily present and elegant. If you are into Barolo, this is certainly a must-pair.

Autumn Salad: beetroot, fig, blackberry, radicchio and hazelnut

This doesn’t just taste of autumn, it looks like autumn on a plate. The burnished plum colours come together with depth from the beetroot, brightness from the quick-pickled blackberries, sweet musky figs and a bed of bitter radicchio leaves. With a tahini dressing and the crunch of a few seasonal nuts for the final flourish. 

It’s a good one to make ahead. Build it in readiness and just finish with the dressing when time to serve. Keep the pickling liquor from the blackberries to use in salad dressings.

Serves 4 as a small main 

• 400g (14oz) raw beetroots 

• 150g (5oz) blackberries 

• 75ml (2 ½ fl oz) red wine vinegar 

• 1 tsp coriander seeds 

• 1 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar

• 300g (10 ½ oz) radicchio 

• 3 ripe figs 

• 100g (3 ½ oz) white tahini 

• 1 tbsp lemon juice 

• 40g (1 ½ oz) shelled hazelnuts 

• sea salt flakes

Steam or roast the beetroots until tender. Leave to cool, peel and set aside. 

Quick-pickle the blackberries at least 1 hour before you want to eat: Put the blackberries into a bowl. In a small pan, heat the vinegar, coriander seeds, sugar and 75ml (21/2fl oz) water just until the sugar dissolves. Pour all that over the blackberries and set aside for 45 minutes, mixing them round occasionally. 

To build the salad: Choose either one large platter or individual plates. Separate the radicchio leaves and arrange as a base, roughly tearing any larger leaves. Cut the beetroots into wedges and arrange over. Cut the figs into wedges and add those, too. Lift the blackberries out of their pickling liquor and arrange over. Scatter over some salt flakes. 

Make the dressing: Mix the tahini with 75ml (21/2fl oz) water and the lemon juice. Give it some salt. Mix well. 

Roughly chop the hazelnuts and scatter over. Serve with the tahini dressing on the side.

Images and text from Seasoning by Angela Clutton, photography by Patricia Niven. Murdoch Books RRP $55.00 - available via Booktopia.