It is always good to sort through piles of cuttings and old magazines, mostly kept for recipe ideas or book revues. I am always surprised by the recipes that end up being the most tempting. Pictures of colourful salads with slivers of radish or dotted with pomegranate seeds are everywhere. Then I found this recipe by Nigel Slater. We have had it as a starter and with cold roast beef. This is a perfect combination as the sweetness of pea shoots is cut by the sharpness of horseradish sauce.

Pea shoots can be grown at home from marrow fat peas bought in supermarkets. Is it tempting to try growing baby salad vegetables too.

200g chestnut mushrooms
Small handful tarragon, leaves removed from stalks
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
2 handfuls pea shoots
1 handful red amaranth or other baby salad leaves such as beetroot or red chard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Slice the mushroom to the thickness of a pound coin and put them in a mixing bowl.

Warm six tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan and add the sliced garlic. Fry on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until the garlic is pale golden. Take the frying pan off the heat and leave for 10 minutes. Take out the garlic and put it to one side. While the oil is still warm, pour it over the mushroom slices. Add the tarragon leaves, season, and stir around.

Pour over the lemon juice, and add the garlic (or leave it out if you want only a hint of garlic in this salad). Cover with cling-film and leave in a cool place for an hour. Stir from time to time. The mushrooms will become soft and translucent.

Rinse and dry the pea shoots and baby salad and combine these on a serving dish with the mushrooms. Check the seasoning and serve.