This colourful salad is an absolute dream! It’s full of punchy, earthy flavours, juicy oranges and crunchy hazelnuts. I promise it’ll go with anything else you decide to cook and it’ll become your favourite salad all spring and summer long, I bet.
Serves 8
Ingredients
16-20 small cooked beets (I’m a fan of ready-to-eat LeaderBrand beetroot, available in supermarkets, but see my note below)
4 oranges, peel and pith removed
3 handfuls of rocket leaves
⅓ cup roasted hazelnuts, skins removed, chopped roughly
Dressing
¼ cup good-quality olive oil
5 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
Juice from cutting the oranges
Method
1. Cut the beetroot and oranges into bite-sized chunks, reserving any juice from the oranges for the dressing.
2. When ready to serve, whisk together the dressing ingredients in a large bowl and toss the rocket through to get it well coated.
3. Top with beetroot and orange pieces and, lastly, the crushed hazelnuts. Don’t toss it again or it will lose its good looks – take it to the table as is!
Nici’s note
I’ve used store-bought, ready-to-eat beetroot for ease of food prep but if your garden is giving up beets galore or you prefer to prepare it from scratch, wrap some whole, peeled beetroot in foil, roast it for 45-60 minutes, and cut it into chunks.
