Late Summer Beetroot with Shallot Dressing
Introduction
This dressing is great with beetroot, but it can also be used to dress robust salad leaves such as cos, iceberg, radicchio or spinach, or to dress vegetables such as cooked green beans, cauliflower, carrots and beetroot.
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
6 medium beetroot (beets)
6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar, plus extra if required
2 Tbsp finely chopped shallots
Good grinding freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp creamy Dijonnaise mustard
1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
1 Tbsp thyme leaves
Method
1 Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Trim the beetroot, leaving most of the tapering ends intact and a few centimetres (an inch or so) of stalks attached to the crown. Wash the beetroot under running water, paying particular attention to the leaf end, but don’t nick the skin. Wrap each beetroot in tin foil and transfer to a shallow dish in case the foil springs a leak.
2 Bake the beetroot for about one hour, depending on size, or until a skewer inserted into the centre meets only a little resistance. Another test is how easily the skin peels away. Undo one of the packages and wipe the skin with a paper towel; it should peel away easily.
3 When the beets are cooked, unwrap and leave until cool (or use them hot if they are for a hot dish). If not for immediate use, rewrap the beets in the foil, transfer to a dish and refrigerate for up to 5 days. For this dish, cool the beetroot, then peel away the skin and crowns. Slice thinly.
4 Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Layer the beetroot in a shallow dish or bowl, dribbling a little dressing over each layer; reserve plenty of dressing for the top layer. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for 2-3 days. If liked, sharpen with more red wine vinegar.