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  3. Candy beetroot, shallot and blood orange salad with ewe’s cheese, pistachios and marigolds

Candy beetroot, shallot and blood orange salad with ewe’s cheese, pistachios and marigolds

Preparation time
overnight

Cooking time
1 to 2 hours

Serves
Serves 4

Dietary
Vegetarian

By Ollie Dabbous
From Saturday Kitchen

Ingredients

For the salad

  • 100ml/3½fl oz white wine vinegar
  • 60g/2¼oz caster sugar
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 banana shallot, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp shallot pickle liquor, from above
  • 3 tsp salt
  • 500g/1lb 2oz candy stripe beetroot
  • 1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
  • 1 blood orange, segmented
  • 4 tbsp toasted pistachios
  • ½ lemon, zest only

For the lemon dressing

  • 2 lemons, juice only
  • 20ml/¾fl oz Chardonnay vinegar
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 200ml/7fl oz extra virgin olive oil

To serve

  • 250g/9oz soft ewe’s milk cheese, at room temperature
  • 250g/9oz strained Greek-style yoghurt
  • selection edible flowers, including marigolds (optional)

Method

  1. To make the salad, place the white wine vinegar, 300ml/10fl oz water, sugar, star anise and 2 teaspoons of the salt in a pan and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

  2. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the shallot for 10 seconds, then drain and plunge into the pickle liquor. Leave overnight.

  3. Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5.

  4. To make the dressing, mix together the lemon juice, vinegar, 20ml/¾fl oz water, sugar and salt in a food processor and gradually add the oil while running to emulsify. Set aside.

  5. To make the salad, wrap the beetroots in kitchen foil and bake in the oven for 1–1½ hours, until tender. Allow to cool slightly then peel and cut into 2cm/1in pieces and dress with a tablespoon of the lemon dressing, the white balsamic and a teaspoon of the salt.

  6. Place the prepared beetroots in a large bowl. Strain the shallots and add them to the bowl, along with a tablespoon of the pickle liquor. Add the blood orange, lovage and pistachios and lemon zest and mix well. Just before serving, dress the salad with the remaining lemon dressing.

  7. To serve, mix the ewe’s milk cheese with the yoghurt and spread some into the base of each serving bowl. Top each bowl with some of the beetroot salad and scatter over the flowers, if using.

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