Sweet Beet Salad

Recipe by Home Bird Food.

• Difficulty: Easy
• Category: Salad

Ingredients

• 1 golden beetroot
• 1 chiggoia beetroot
• 1 blood beetroot
• sweet paprike
• 50 g pine nuts
• Donegal Rapeseed Oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• zest and juice of 1 orange
• 150 g demerera sugar
• 2 tbsp honey
• mixed leaves ((rocket, baby spinach, watercress))
• 2 tsp mixed spice

Instructions

1. Wash and trim the beetroot, but do not peel. Place the beetroot in a large saucepan and cover with 2cm of water. Bring to the boil over a high heat, then reduce the heat a simmer, cover and cook until just tender, about 30 to 40 minutes depending on size. Drain and set aside to cool. As soon as they are cool enough to handle, peel off the skins and cut roughly into 3cm wedges.
2. To toast the pine nuts; toss in a little rapeseed oil with the paprika and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, toast off in a dry frying pan until golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3. The buttermilk dressing is easily prepared by whisking the buttermilk in a jug with the lemon juice, honey and good glug of  Donegal Rapeseed Oil. Season well with sea salt and black peppercorns.
4. Using the same frying pan in which the pine nuts have been spiced ad toasted; Melt the butter, and finely grate in the zest of the orange. Add a squeeze of orange juice, the mixed spice, honey and sugar and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and leave to bubble away for around 10 minutes until caramelised and sticky. Remove from the heat and toss through the cooked beets.
5. Serve, after tossing the salad leaves with the buttermilk dressing, scattering over the beets and finishing with the toasted seeds.