Personal

Car Stuff

Extras

Roasted beetroot with baby chard, goat's cheese and walnuts

The simple marriage of beetroot and goat's cheese works beautifully and the glaze adds a lovely complexity. it's a very easy dish to put together. Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main course. From Gourmet Food for a Fiver by Jason Atherton (Quadrille)

3 red beetroot, washed
sea salt
1 plain goat's cheese log, about 150g, without rind
40ml milk
40g baby chard leaves, or mixed baby greens, such as rocket or spinach
olive oil, to drizzle
For the walnut dressing:
100g walnuts, shelled and chopped
15g parsley leaves, finely chopped
15g chervil leaves, finely chopped
15g garlic, peeled and crushed
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
150ml olive oil
For the glaze:
40ml thin honey
50ml red wine vinegar
65ml olive oil

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Trim the tops and roots from the beetroot, chop the trimmings and put them into a saucepan. Cut off and roughly chop a quarter of 1 beetroot; add to the pan. Loosely wrap all the rest of the beetroot in foil, sprinkle with a little salt and bake until tender when tested with a knife (1-1½ hours). Unwrap and leave to cool.

In a small bowl, mix the goat's cheese with the milk using a fork to loosen it slightly. Cover and refrigerate.

For the walnut dressing, toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan over a medium heat until light golden brown and starting to give off a nutty aroma. Tip into a bowl and add the herbs, garlic, wine vinegar and olive oil. Stir to combine and season with salt to taste.

Peel the cooled beetroot and set aside; add the skins to the other trimmings.

To make the glaze, pour 200-300ml water over the beetroot trimmings – just enough to cover them. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until the water is deep red in colour. Strain, discarding the trimmings, and return to the pan. Whisk in the honey, wine vinegar, olive oil and some salt. Simmer until reduced and thickened to a syrupy glaze, about 6-8 minutes.

Meanwhile cut the beetroot into wedges. Toss into the pan and gently move them around with a spoon to coat with the glaze and heat through, about 3-5 minutes.

To plate: Place a ring of beetroot wedges on each plate and drizzle with the glaze. Dollop the goat's cheese in between and spoon on the walnut dressing. Arrange the salad leaves decoratively and sprinkle with a few drops of olive oil and a little sea salt.