GF
Serves 6 – 8 as a side salad
I first tried the salad on which this recipe is based from a deli not long after moving to New Zealand and it was delicious. For some reason, my primary experience with beetroot prior to that was of the pickled variety, but roasted fresh beetroot was a whole new revelation to me and it is absolutely one of my favourite veggies. Unfortunately, with my coeliac diagnosis came an end to buying salads from delis, but that’s not a problem given how easy this is to make at home. The beetroot can be roasted in advance and kept in the fridge for a day or two until you’re ready to make the salad. I prefer baby spinach leaves for this, but had to use finely sliced bigger leaves for the photos here as I didn’t have baby spinach. Other salad leaves will work too, such as rocket. The vinegar is given as a range – adding more vinegar will make the beetroot taste sweeter (can anyone explain the science behind that for me?!) so adjust the vinegar according to your preferences.
What you need:
1 kg of beetroot, peeled with the ends removed and cut into bite size pieces
6 tablespoons of mild or light olive oil (divided into 3 tablespoons and 3 tablespoons in the recipe)
2 handfuls of baby spinach (or other salad leaves as available)
¾ cup of walnuts, lightly toasted
200 grams of feta
1-2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
What to do:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. While the oven is preheating, toss the chopped beetroot with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and spread in a single layer on a baking tray. If your beetroot doesn’t fit the baking tray and forms a double layer, spread it across two baking trays.
3. Bake the beetroot for about an hour, or until cooked, stirring once or twice during this time to keep the beetroot from sticking to the pan and to ensure it cooks evenly.
4. Once cooked, remove the beetroot from the oven and cool. Once cool, either use straight away or store in the fridge until you are ready to finish making the salad.
5. When you are ready to finish making the salad, place the baby spinach (or other salad leaves) in a salad bowl along with the cooked beetroot and roasted walnuts.
6. Chop the feta into cubes about 1 cm in each direction and set aside to add to the salad later.
7. To make the dressing, mix together the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil, apple cider vinegar, fresh parsley, a generous pinch of salt and a couple of grinds of fresh pepper in a small jar or container.
8. Add the dressing to the salad bowl with the other ingredients and toss together.
9. Sprinkle the feta over the ingredients in the salad bowl and mix together carefully (just a couple of turns is enough – too much will turn the feta pink!).
10. Taste the salad and add extra salt and pepper if needed.
11. Serve immediately or keep in the fridge for a few hours to serve later in the day.
12. Enjoy!
Some, Some and Some 