Southern pecan & apple salad

Lightly rub a baking tray with some olive oil and put to one side.

Put a large pan on a low heat and add your butter and sugar. Leave on a gentle simmer for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally to stop it catching, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture starts to darken.

Gently stir in your pecans until they're well coated in the caramel syrup. Be careful not to splash yourself, and don't be tempted to have a taste because hot caramel can burn quite badly.

Once coated, tip the nuts on to the oiled tray and use the back of a spoon to separate them out into one layer. Leave them to cool so the caramel can harden on the nuts.

Meanwhile, make your dressing. Grate the orange zest into a large salad bowl, squeeze in the juice and add the Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar and a good lug of extra virgin olive oil. Whisk them, then have a taste – you want to get a nice balance between the sharpness of the vinegar and the smoothness of the oil, so add a little more oil if needed, then season carefully with sea salt and black pepper.

Click off the chicory leaves and wash and spin dry all your leaves. Core, quarter and finely slice your apples and add to the bowl with all your leaves.

Break the cooled pecans apart, add half of them to the bowl, and use your hands to delicately toss and dress everything.

Serve on one big platter, or divide up between plates, and finish by crumbling over the rest of your beautiful caramel pecans.