Beet Salad

Ingredients

1 large or 2 small beets

2-3 sprigs thyme

2-3 sprigs rosemary

2-3 garlic cloves

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

Salad

100g guanciale, finely diced.

200g goat’s cheese

½ red onion, finely diced

50g toasted pine nuts

1 large orange

10g fresh basil

10g fresh flat leaf parsley

Dressing

1 clove garlic

1 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp honey

1 tsp salt

1tsp black pepper

“An old Ukrainian proverb warns, ‘A tale that begins with a beet will end with the devil.” That is a risk we have to take.’

― Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume

I love cooking with beets. A big part of the fun is the super-intense, ultra-dark, deep-red colour of them. There’s nothing else in the world quite like it. As you slice a freshly roasted beet the thing has an almost menacing aura to it. Probably for this reason, in literature they’re often associated with madness and death.

For the most part, this dramatic vegetable has a poor reputation – people’s impressions, I suspect, are set by having been introduced to it in its (admittedly heinous) preserved form. Cooked fresh though, they have a mild, slightly sweet, slightly nutty flavour. They enjoyed a brief resurgence, with a beet and goats cheese salad becoming a mid-priced restaurant cliché for a bit, but never quite managed the comeback the Brussel sprout did.

Can either be served by itself or as a side (pic is with grilled salmon).

Wash the beets and wrap in tin foil with the other (non-salad or dressing ingredients). Cook in a 180 oven for 1-1.5 hours. Allow to cool. Remove skins by running under cold water. The flesh should hold together but be tender to the touch and cut easily. Chop into 1cm cubes.
While beets are cooking, dice the guanciale, cook over a low heat until the fat is rendered and its nicely brown. Reserve fat for other uses, allow to cool.
Bring together the dressing ingredients in a pestle and mortar until smooth.
Peel & remove seeds from the orange, chop into 1cm cubes. Roughly chop the herbs. Combine with guanciale, beets, and the rest of the salad ingredients, except the cheese. Dress and mix.
To serve, plate and crumble the cheese on top (if you mix the cheese in, it’ll merge with the beet juice and dressing, and you’ll lose the wonderful colour - everything will end up a rather lurid purple pink!)