Tonight I was planning to make a salad of Puy lentils with fresh broad beans and goats cheese and mint. I was happily making my way through the grocery store buying all the necessary things, when I arrived at the vegetable section and realised that there were no fresh broad beans! It would be possible to make this salad with frozen broad beans, of course, but that wouldn't be the celebration of spring that I wanted, would it? Plans shattered, Ted and I mooched around the shelves of vegetables for several minutes waiting for inspiration to strike, when I spotted these baby leeks. I knew at once that they were coming home with me tonight.

Each leek was as slender as my little finger, and a sweet pale green. I was wondering aloud what to make with them, when Ted noticed that they were next to some baby zucchini and baby carrots, each about 10 cm long, and said, "infanticide salad!". There was no way I could resist making it, now that we had a name for it. So I gathered up these vegetables, along with a couple of wee fennel bulbs and a handful of tiny Jersey potatoes each no bigger than a fat olive, and some herbs and a lemon to make a dressing which wouldn't overpower the sweetness of the vegetables. I didn't end up using the potatoes in the salad - perhaps I will boil them tomorrow, then halve them and toss them with capers and chopped herbs and a little lemon juice and olive oil. The big surprise for me in this meal was the flavour of the carrots, and how well they worked with the herbs and lemon. I would happily make that as a side dish for a meal - a big turnaround for a root-vegetable-avoider like me.

Preheat the oven to 180 C.

Scrub the carrots and cut in half lengthwise. Cut off the tops of the fennel and remove the outer leaf if it is tough. Slice the fennel in half through its long axis, then slice lengthwise into fine segments (4 mm thick) held together at the base. Slice the zucchinis in half lengthwise. Cut the bottoms off the leeks, and then chop in half across the middle.

Roast the vegetables in one large or two smaller roasting dishes - try not to pile the vegetables up too much, or they will get soggy. The carrots will take the longest to cook, so put them in first, tossed with olive oil and a little salt and pepper. Add the other vegetables in stages, according to their size and how long you think they will take to cook. I would add the fennel after 10 minutes, the zucchini and leeks after a further 10 minutes, then the tomatoes after a further 15. Keep an eye on them and remove the vegetables once the tomatoes have softened and the skin just started to split - that should take about 5 or 10 minutes. Toss the vegetables each time you add more, and drizzle over a little more oil if necessary.

Once the vegetables are all tender and light golden, remove from the oven. Sprinkle over the lemon juice and the chopped herbs, and toss well. Season to taste. Divide the lamb's lettuce between two large plates, and top with the vegetables. Shave some pecorino over the top of the salad, and eat at once.

14 April 2004