Ottolenghi’s beetroot & avocado salad.

Recipe

Sweet or savoury?

If I didn't know better i'd guess that this delight (at the back of my fridge) was a giant raspberry with dollops of vanilla frosting, however i do recall having excess beetroot for my candied walnut salad at a dinner party about a month ago...

Beetroot salad = beetroot poo.

This salad is a guaranteed winner. The candied walnuts are a standout every time. Blanch the walnuts in boiling water. Pat them dry. shake them about in icing sugar. Throw them into a put of extremely hot oil. Take them out when they go golden. At this point you're supposed to blot out the oil with paper towel but this generally causes fluff balls to stick to your nuts. Kinky sounding but not aesthetically pleasing. I generally get a crap tea towel and rub them about. Then, you sprinkle some cayenne pepper over them and boom, you're done. Very tay-stee. Goats curd is also a fabulous invention. It's like goats cheese but is much smoother a softer and you have to dollop it on. I can only find it at Prahran Market in the shop opposite the Olive/Chilli baguette baker. The contrast between the salty cheese and the sweet roast beetroot and pomegranate is to die for. Note the Scotch Fillet psyching itself up in the background. Mr Teriyaki beef is next on the menu.

Lunch rocked.

Menu selection was tough. Dad doesn't eat seafood or pig or spices so all options either had to be dad-friendly or easy to separate out the bad bits. We decided to return to the open Swedish burger from last week's trial - huge success. Dad didn't even notice the ground caraway seeds. Think they were masked by Domus's beet-root mandolin skillfulness. Then we did the opposite colour thing with the tahini beans and asparagus and threw in a splash of summer with watermelon, haloumi, pomegranate, prawn and burghul salad. Each dish had completely unique flavors and was devoured in second and third rounds. No doubt everyone is now suffering with spary-wee and crimson poo.  Dessert was Autumn salad of pomegranate, pear and fig in rhubarb syrup. (see previous post for failed attempts at the rhubarb) with King Island vanilla yogurt. Mmmm, Food coma to the max.    

 

Green bean and asparagus recipe:
• green bean and asparagus salad with sesame dressing • 2 bunches asparagus 

• 250g green beans

• 1/4 cup Asian sesame paste or Tahini

• 2 tbs soy sauce

• 1 tbsp caster sugar

• 1 tbs rice wine vinegar'1 tsp finely grated ginger

• 2 red Asian eschalots thinly sliced

Blanch veg in boiling saulted water for 2-3 mins, then rinse with cold water. Stir paste, sauce, sugar, vinegar, ginger and 1 tbs water in a bowl to dissolve sugar. Drizzle greens with dressing and top with eschalots. I also put fried eschalots on top as well.

What a keen sense of colour you have Nickers.

Saturday night's outing required a salad. Not just an ordinary salad. A vegetarian salad. Not so much my forte. I usually sneak some prawn or squid in for good measure but was told a vegetarian would not be so appreciate the effort. This was my offering: Roast beetroot and caramelised walnut salad with goat’s curd, pomegranate and preserved lemon. Although in hindsight i now realise i neglected the lemon. Tut tut.