beetroot and orange salad
My son Alex, chef at the Pontcanna’s new Ogof restaurant, devised this salad for my sister Ali’s birthday on the first of March, at the tail end of blood orange season. It is, however, brilliantly bright and refreshing in the depths of winter.
Do use blood oranges if they are available – they look wonderful against the deep purple of the beetroot and are particularly sweet and juicy. Homemade marmalade will give the zestiest flavour to the vinaigrette – but whatever you use, try to ensure that any pieces of orange skin are chopped very finely.
You can cook the beetroots the day before if it’s helpful. This method of oven-steaming makes them lovely and juicy. It’s difficult to give a precise cooking time – freshly pulled beetroots tend to cook quicker than ones that have been stored.
SERVES 6
6 large beetroots
Good quality white wine vinegar
100g walnut halves
1½ tablespoons maple syrup
Salt and pepper
1½ teaspoons Cointreau
100g Rosary or other goat’s cream cheese
4 tablespoons crème fraiche
4 oranges (use blood oranges if they are available), peeled and sliced
125g small salad leaves, such as rocket, baby spinach or radicchio
1 tablespoon marmalade
4 tablespoons good quality extra virgin olive oil
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Wash the beetroots carefully to avoid damaging their skins. Trim the stems to a length of about 5cm and leave the roots intact. (These measures will ensure that the sweet purple juices do not bleed out as they cook.)
Lay the beetroots in a roasting tin with high sides, leaving plenty of space between them. Add cold water to give a depth of about 4cm around the beetroots and add a dash of the white wine vinegar. Cover the top with foil, crimping around the edges of the roasting tin so that the beetroots will steam. Bake until tender for about 2 hours or more, checking at least every hour to ensure the water hasn’t evaporated, adding more when necessary. When the beetroots are soft enough to slide a knife into, immediately place them in a saucepan and cover with a lid, to help steam off their skins. As soon as you can handle them, rub off the skins and trim off the stems and root. Set aside until you are ready to assemble the salad.
Lower the oven temperature to 160°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Toss the walnuts in the maple syrup and a pinch of salt until lightly covered. Spread in a single layer on the lined baking tray. Cook for about 15 minutes until they smell nutty and are lightly caramelised, stirring them around at approximately 5-minute intervals. Watch closely near the end: maple syrup can burn fast. Remove from the oven and immediately drizzle over the Cointreau, toss to coat evenly, and leave to cool on the tray.
Mix the goat’s cream cheese with the crème fraiche and beat with a fork until smooth.
Slice the beetroots. Arrange the beetroot and orange slices on a large plate with the salad leaves. Decorate with teaspoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture and the walnut halves. Make the vinaigrette by mixing the marmalade, 1 tablespoon of the white wine vinegar and the olive oil. Just before serving, pour the dressing over the salad and season.