My childhood memories of beetroot are that it came in a can and tasted vaguely of dirt. While it has been popular on menus for some time now, it has taken me a while to get on board with this trend.
This salad was part of my ‘conversion’ – simple and so tasty it will be appearing on my summer salad roster for years to come. Instead of boiling, you can wrap the beetroot in foil and roast at 180ºC for 30–40 minutes until they are cooked. They will be slightly sweeter using this method, but if it’s too hot for the oven just boil them as directed. My number one tip is to use disposable gloves when peeling the beets or your hands will be an interesting shade of pink for a few days.
Ingredients:
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- 4–6 fresh beetroots
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- handful of cress or parsley
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- 1 tablespoon of chopped mint
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- 100g marinated goats’ feta
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- 100g walnuts, roughly chopped
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- 1–2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
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- olive oil for drizzling
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- salt and pepper to taste
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- pea shoots or rocket to garnish
Read: Five healthy fatty foods
Method
Wash the dirt off your beets (if they’re home grown). They’re dirty buggers. Poach them in boiling water until they’re soft enough to pierce easily with a fork, or roast in the oven with the skin on. Drain and allow to cool.
Read: Beet and Mushroom Bourguignon
Peel off the skin (it will slip off easily – use disposable gloves), cut the beets into small cubes and transfer them to a mixing bowl. Throw in the cress or parsley, mint, goats’ cheese, walnuts and balsamic vinegar, and toss well. Season to taste, drizzle over some olive oil and garnish with pea shoots or rocket leaves.
Recipe taken from A Year of Practiculture, by Rohan Anderson
Rohan Anderson left his desk job in the city for the richer pleasures of living a simpler life on the land. Over the years he has developed his own principle of practical living. A Year of Practiculture features 100 of Rohan’s simple, rustic, seasonal recipes, as well as his observations, victories and failures, and the realities of living a practical life.
