Rocket and flat-leaf parsley salad with currants, parmesan, a balsamic dressing and tomato crostini

Rocket defies fashion like nothing else that has been subjected to such overuse, misuse, abuse and downright misspelling. It’s been picked from the wild and cultivated for aeons by people who eat for pleasure and, like all the most interesting vegetables, can vary widely in flavour depending on its age and place of birth. Young, early-spring rocket, or tunnel-grown, is delicate, pale and subtle; later on, when the leaves are bigger, darker and tougher, it can be peppery, pungent and bitter.