This is a marvellous salad courtesy of Mr Ottolenghi, the master of things tahini and yoghurt. It comes from his ‘Simple’ cookbook and it is quite simple indeed.
How to roast beetroot?
Beetroot is gorgeous, unless you buy it ready-roasted and vacuum-packed – then it’s nasty. It is still a considerable step up from what I remember used to be the most common beetroot product in the supermarkets years ago: cooked, vacuum packed but also soused in bad vinegar.
Please don’t: it only takes half an hour, a length of kitchen foil and a pair of gloves to cook beetroot. And the only reason why you might think you don’t like beetroot is because you’ve never cooked it at home.
Roughly washed but with the skin intact, you can wrap a bunch of beetroot in foil all together though I do like to wrap them individually. Place all or the one parcel on a tray – these babies will sometimes leak crimson juice even tightly wrapped – and roast for half an hour to forty minutes, depending on the size of the beetroots. You can check if they’re ready by prodding one with a sharp pointy knife or a cake skewer. If it slides in easily, it’s cooked.
Peeling is messy
That’s undeniable and it’s the worst part. Let the beetroots cool down just so they are not too hot to handle. Put your kitchen gloves on, line your worktop with paper towels and get to it: the skin on cooked beetroot peels very easily, albeit messily.
It’s best to mix the salad with the beetroots still warm, for the best flavour: the seasoning and dressing will be better absorbed. But if it’s more convenient to cook the beetroot in advance and keep them in the fridge until use, it will still be delicious.
Preserved lemons? What now??
Preserved lemons are, to be honest, one of those Ottolenghi ingredients the western world had never heard of ten years ago, and now it’s a staple in every middle class home cupboard. Seriously though, it’s a jar very much worth having at home.
Lemons are preserved with salt and their own acid, and the result is a shrunken, softened bomb of zingy flavour. The skin is delicious, like the best pickle, and the inside makes for a wonderful dressing combined with olive oil. And yes, you use them whole, with skin being the nicest part, only removing the pips.
If you can’t lay your hands on them though and don’t fancy preserving your own, you can swap them for chopped gherkins and extra lemon juice in this recipe.
Mixing the salad
Once the beetroots are peeled and sliced, it’s easy. Add the chopped preserved lemons/gherkins and shallots to the bowl, with lots and lots of fresh dill. Toast the cumin seeds in olive oil and pour over the salad, following with salt and pepper, lemon juice and honey.
Don’t add the yoghurt though until just before serving. That’s because it will soak into the beetroot and make the salad watery. Plus it will look much nicer if it’s dolloped and lightly swirled over the salad.
And I always make up more tahini yoghurt than is needed, as it’s such tasty stuff.
What to serve it with?
It’s delicious with grilled salmon or mackerel. You can serve it with a vegetarian main course too: place a mound of cooked spelt, bulgur or other grain on a plate and arrange the salad on top.
The salad without the yoghurt will keep well overnight in the fridge so if you think you’ll have any leftovers, add the yoghurt onto individual portions and keep both separate.
More beetroot recipes
Twice roasted beetroot with pomegranate: once you bake the beetroots in foil, you can bake them again with some more crimson ingredients, figs and pomegranate. Served with soft cheese, it’s a lovely warm salad.
Raw beetroot salad with simple dressing; a healthy fresh salad with sliced chioggia beetroot, grated cheese and lots of fresh herbs. Easy side dish or a healthy lunch.
Beetroot gratin, thinly sliced beets baked in garlic and dill infused cream, a gorgeous side to a fish course. No need to pre-cook the beetroot.
More roasted vegetable salad recipes
Roast pumpkin and feta salad, with lime juice steeped red onions and toasted walnuts, pine kernels and pumpkin seeds is delicious, and the best way to use post-Halloween pumpkin. But it’s also a good enough reason to procure a pumpkin or a squash just for that!
Brown butter lentil and sweet potato salad is a delicious combo of roasted sweet potato chunks, green or puy lentils cooked from scratch and a super flavoursome dressing with sage leaves and brown butter. With crumbled blue or goats cheese on top, optionally.
Roasted peppers salad with soft cheese: red peppers are roasted under the grill and then skinned, tossed with spiced dressing and served with soft cheese or feta.