Preheat oven to 180c.

Wrap the unpeeled beetroots in foil, place in the oven for 1 hour, or until tender. Remove and cool slightly before peeling them and cutting to small wedges.

Cook the black rice in plenty of boiling water for 18 minutes, then drain in a sieve or colander, rinse under cold water and drain well.

Cut off the woody base end of each asparagus spear.

Cook the spears in boiling salted water for 1 minute, then drain and refresh in cold water.

Place the orange juice in a small pan, bring to the boil then cook gently over a medium heat for 5 minutes or until reduced and syrupy, cool then whisk in the olive oil and walnut oil

For the whipped avocado, cut it in half, remove the centre stone and peel it. Place the flesh in a blender with the lemon juice, water and oil, blitz until smooth and creamy in texture, season to taste.

Arrange the salad leaves attractively on serving plates, dress the cooked rice with half the orange dressing and scatter over the salad leaves.

Dress the beetroot, thinly sliced fennel, orange slices, and asparagus in a bowl with the remaining dressing, season to taste, arrange on top of the rice.

Drip a large spoonful of the Whipped avocado on the side of each plate.

Scatter over the toasted pine nuts and serve, a real taste of summer!

Paul Gayler Tips:

Any nut oil would work beautifully in this salad, hazelnut for example. Nut oils can be found now in most supermarkets, if you prefer you could double up on the olive oil used in the recipe.