Warm beetroot, artichoke and pear salad
A warm salad that can be served all year round, even in autumn and winter.
Ingredients
For the salad
- 6 baby beetroots, trimmed and scrubbed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 fresh thyme sprigs
- 4 Jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed and cut into chunks
- 1 tbsp white miso paste
- 1 tbsp runny honey
- 50g/1½oz baby spinach leaves
- 125²µ/4½´Ç³ú Roquefort cheese, cut into small pieces
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the poached pears
- 200ml/7fl oz red wine
- 1 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 dried red chilli
- 1 bay leaf
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú caster sugar
- 1 Comice or Williams pear, peeled, cored and halved
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú raisins
For the spelt
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú spelt
- 500ml/18fl oz vegetable stock
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú hazelnuts, roasted and skinned
For the kale
- 4 large kale leaves, finely shredded
- 50ml/2fl oz olive oil
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
Place the beetroot on some kitchen foil. Drizzle with the oil and add the thyme then seal up the foil as a parcel and place on a baking tray. Roast for 30 minutes, or until tender. At the same time, place the artichokes on a separate baking tray and season with salt and pepper. Brush the artichokes with the miso and honey and roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the oven. Leave the beetroot to cool slightly then put on clean rubber gloves and rub the beetroot skins off.
Meanwhile, place the wine, star anise, cinnamon stick, chilli, bay leaf and sugar in a large saucepan and heat to a simmer, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
Using a melon baller, ball the pear and add the balls to the saucepan for 5 minutes to poach. Add the raisins at the end of the cooking time and set aside.
Toast the spelt in a dry frying pan until golden. Add the stock and simmer for 20 minutes until cooked. Stir in the roasted hazelnuts.
Toss the shredded kale in the olive oil and vinegar.
Serve the spelt on warmed plates then use a slotted spoon to transfer the poached pears and raisins to the plates. Add the artichokes, beetroot, kale, spinach and cheese to the plates and serve immediately.
