Roasted beetroot with colourful tomatoes

Tam West

Oven-roasting beetroot produces a flavour that is concentrated and sweet, quite different from beetroot boiled in water. I love both ways of cooking beets, so you could do either for this salad. Roasting time is dependent on the size of your beets. I used golf-ball-sized baby beets.

Dressing

2 Tbsp	Red wine vinegar
1 tsp	Wholegrain mustard
1 tsp	Honey
5 Tbsp	Extra virgin olive oil

Salad

1 kg	Beetroot, similar sized, leaves reserved
250 g	Cherry tomatoes, mixed colour, cut in half hoizontally
1 handful	Basil leaves, small
1 packet	Pita bread, toasted, for serving
1 pot	Cottage cheese, for serving

Directions

1. Combine dressing ingredients in a small screwtop jar and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Shake well before using.
2. Heat the oven to 180C. Place the beets in a shallow roasting dish and cover with their own leaves and then cover the roasting dish with foil. Roast beets for 50-60 minutes until the skins start to wrinkle and will slip off easily, and the beets are tender when a sharp knife is inserted.
3. Using your hands, slip away the skins while still warm and slice evenly. Place on a serving plate and scatter over the tomatoes and basil.
4. Drizzle with enough dressing to moisten salad and serve with toasted pita breads (or other bread of your choice), spread with cottage cheese.

See more of Kathy's spring salad recipes

• Roasted carrots with avocado and orange
• Greens and noodles with chilli dressing