Pear, Beetroot and Feta Salad

Made with spicy sweet fire baby beetroot, sweet pear, creamy feta cheese and hazelnuts, this colourful salad will get your taste buds tingling and give you a boost of vitamin C and iron to help see you through to the end of the winter months.

It’s a light dish which is satisfying on its own as a starter or for lunch. It also works wonderfully with a thick cut pork chop if you are having a meat eating day and want to add more protein.

Method

Serves 1

Prep time: 0 Cook time: 10 mins

Pre-heat oven to 200c/180c Fan/Gas Mark 6

Put the hazelnuts on a baking tray and place on the top shelf of the oven. Cook for 4 minutes. They will burn easily, so perhaps set a timer. Remove from the oven, pour onto a tea towel and wrap. Set to one side.

To make the dressing, pour the oil and vinegar into a small cup, add a pinch of salt and pepper and whisk with a fork until they emulsify. Set to one side.

Chop the pear and beetroot. Take the hazelnuts that have been wrapped in a tea towel and rub them fairly vigorously still inside the tea towel. This will remove any excess pieces of skin. Chop into small pieces.

Put the lamb’s lettuce in a bowl and pour over the salad dressing. Use a spoon or your hand to gently mix round until it is all coated. Place into the plate that you are going to eat from.

Scatter over the beetroot, pear, and hazelnuts. Break the Feta cheese into smallish pieces and scatter over, along with the thyme.

Adjust the seasoning and eat straight away.

If you want to serve this for a larger number, it’s easy to make up more portions and serve on platter as a side dish for a buffet or bigger dinner.

Ingredients

A large handful of lambs lettuce

1/2 ripe pear chopped

1 large sweetfire baby beetroot chopped

20g hazelnuts toasted and chopped

20g Feta cheese crumbled

Dressing

1/2 tspn white wine vinegar

1 1/2 tspn olive oil

salt and black pepper