Ingredients
Serves Serves 4 as a light lunch or side dish1 red onion, quartered, root ends intact
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
4 sprigs thyme
8 cloves garlic
12 baby beetroot, washed, stalks trimmed, bases scraped clean
12 baby yellow beetroot, washed, stalks trimmed, bases scraped clean
Olive oil, for drizzling
50 g hazelnuts
100 g sour cream
4 radishes, thinly sliced
1 large handful watercress sprigs
Vinaigrette:
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tbsp verjuice
1 tbsp hazelnut oil
60 ml extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt flakes
Method
Beetroot and sour cream is a marriage made in heaven – just think of borscht, the ubiquitous Russian soup. Roasting beetroot is also the best way of bringing out that super-earthy sweetness you get from all root vegetables. This salad is a celebration of the earth and hedgerow; I have also added sweet roasted garlic, a few radishes and hazelnuts for interest and crunch, and watercress for its lovely, iron-y pepperiness.
1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 180°C.
2. Lay 2 large sheets of foil on the bench side-by-side. Place the onion on 1 sheet of foil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and add a twist of pepper. Throw on 2 sprigs of the thyme and 4 of the garlic cloves.
3. Place the beetroot on the second sheet of foil, scatter with the remaining thyme and garlic, then season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the onion and beetroot with olive oil and enclose the foil around the vegetables to make 2 loose parcels. Transfer to a baking tray, then roast for 45 minutes or until tender. Remove the parcels from the oven and set aside to cool.
4. Peel the beetroot (preferably using disposable gloves otherwise you'll end up with red fingers). Set aside.
5. Place the hazelnuts on a baking tray in the oven for 4–6 minutes until the skins blister and begin to darken. Remove and tip into a clean tea towel. Rub the hazelnuts with the towel to remove the skins.
6. For the vinaigrette, whisk the mustard and verjuice in a small bowl, then add the hazelnut and olive oils in a steady stream to emulsify the vinaigrette. Season with a pinch of salt. Leftover vinaigrette can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 14 days and used to dress all kinds of salads.
7. Smear the sour cream onto a platter or individual plates, then top with the beetroot and onion. Sprinkle with the radish, hazelnuts and watercress, then drizzle with the vinaigrette. Serve immediately.