Seasonal local food recipe No 65: Beetroot and goat’s cheese salad
As seen on last night’s edition of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Every Day series. Lightly toasted walnuts would be a good alternative to the redcurrants.
Serves 4 as a starter, 2 as a main course
Ingredients
about 400g small beetroot
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
a large sprig of thyme (optional)
2 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
3-4 handfuls of seasonal salad leaves
175–200g crumbly goat’s cheese
50-100g redcurrants
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the dressing:
1 tbsp cider vinegar or lemon juice
3 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
pinch sea salt
pinch freshly ground black pepper
pinch caster sugar
Method
Scrub the beetroot well, but leave them whole, then place on a large piece of foil. Scatter with the garlic, the leaves from the thyme, if you’re using it, and some salt and pepper, then trickle over the oil. Scrunch up the foil to make a baggy but tightly sealed parcel, place it on a baking tray and put it in an oven preheated to 200°C/Gas Mark 6.
Roast until tender – about an hour, though it could take longer. The beetroot are cooked when a knife slips easily into the flesh. Leave to cool, then top and tail them and remove the skin. Cut into wedges and place in a large bowl.
Whisk together all the dressing ingredients. Arrange the salad leaves on serving plates and trickle on a little of the dressing. Roughly crumble the cheese over the beetroot, add the remaining dressing and toss together loosely with your hands. Arrange on top of the leaves, scatter over the redcurrants and serve.
