A hearty salad with colour and flavour galore. What better way to welcome back the Summer?

Our friends, James and Kate Mackenzie, know how to tempt palates. At the Pipe and Glass Inn in Beverley, East Yorkshire, they've won awards for their food and hospitality. We asked them to serve up a salad worthy of a British summer.

'Salt beef is a good old-fashioned meat, but very under-used. We use the brisket which is brined and then boiled for hours; treat it as you would a joint of gammon. Using the brisket with its nice fat content gives the beef a moist and tasty texture. The salad of salt beef uses green beans, radish, Lincolnshire poacher and quail eggs. A simple and colourful dish which could be a starter or a main course.'

Serves 4 – 6

Ingredients

800g piece of cooked salt beef

1 bunch of radishes

200g fine green beans

6 quail eggs

200g Lincolnshire poacher cheese (or similar tasty cheddar)

Pea shoots

For the vinaigrette:

8 tblsp rapeseed oil

2 tblsp cold water

3 tblsp Sherry vinegar

1 tblsp Dijon mustard

Get a bowl of iced water ready, then drop the quail eggs into a pan of boiling water and cook for 2 minutes 20 seconds. Plunge the quail eggs straight into the iced water. Leave them there for about 5 minutes then carefully peel.

Trim the ends off the green beans and blanch in boiling salted water for 2 mintutes then refresh in iced water.

Mix the oil, vinegar, water and mustard together to form your vinaigrette. Season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Shred the salt beef up into strips by pulling it apart with your fingers. You can use a knife if you wish, but it will not give as much texture to the finished dish. Place in a mixing bowl. Take shavings off the cheese with a potato peeler. Wash, trim and half the radishes. 

Add the radish, beans, pea shoots and cheese to the salt beef and dress with half the vinaigrette. Put onto your serving plate.

Cut the eggs in half lengthways and place on the salad. Spoon a little more vinaigrette over and around.

Serve with some warm crusty bread.

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This recipe is taken from James' new book: On the Menu: Seasonal recipes for a culinary life. To enjoy this and other tempting dishes that source as much local and seasonal produce as possible, visit James and Kate at The Pipe and Glass, which stands on the site of the original gatehouse to Dalton Park, still the residence of Lord Hotham.