The Food Diaries

Rainbow salad of beets, carrots and chicory with soft goat’s cheese and honey walnuts

A fresh and crunchy salad that is seriously moorish.

Using a food processor, thinly grate the following peeled raw vegetables: 1 large golden beet, 1 large candy-striped beet, and 1 large carrot. Place in a bowl and dress with olive or rapeseed oil, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, Dijon mustard and sea salt. This can be refrigerated for a few hours as required.

Coat a handful of walnut pieces in runny honey and grill in the oven till nicely toasted.

Assemble the salad by first placing a bed of sliced red and yellow chicory slices on each plate. Place a mound of the grated vegetables in the middle. Top with soft goat’s cheese, such as the Italian Caprino. Drizzle a little olive oil over the cheese and chicory. Sprinkle the walnut pieces around and garnish the top of the cheese with nigella seeds.

Roasted candy-striped beets

If you can’t bear to cook these (as they will lose much of their pretty stripes and colour in the process), then simply serve them raw, carpaccio-style.

Otherwise, rinse, top and tail, and peel the beets. Cut in half and then into wedges. Place on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil, freshly ground sea salt and pepper and a little dried thyme.

Roast in a 200c oven, turning them occasionally, till crisp (around 30 minutes, depending on the size of the wedges).

Oh, and don’t discard the stalks and leaves if they look in good condition! More on what to do with these in an upcoming post.

Golden beet carpaccio

If you can get a hold of golden beets (ask around at a farmer’s market) then this is a really fresh way to serve them - taking no time at all to prepare.

Take 2 medium golden beets and scrub off any dirt under cold running water. Trim the tops and tails (but don’t peel the beets!) and then using a mandolin (or vegetable peeler) slice off very thin disks from the beets.

Place them in a shallow dish and drizzle with olive oil and lime juice. Season with sea salt and pepper and garnish with some lime zest.

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BEANS & BEETS >

Pink & white beets with yogurt dressing

This is a fabulous little recipe from the Moro cookbook - Moro being one of my all-time favourite restaurants in London; situated in lovely Exmouth Market and specialising in Moorish food (i.e. the cuisine of North Africa and Southern Spain).

If you can get your hands on beets other than the standard dark variety (i.e. golden, candy-striped, pink, white) than so much the better. These can usually be found in farmer’s market, so ask around or just look out for beets that have a slightly lighter exterior.

Take 500g beets, rinse and place in a pot of cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until you can easily pierce the centre with a sharp knife (up to an hour). Run under cold water while rubbing off the skin (it should come off easily if completely cooked). Slice in half across the width and then in wedges (4 or 8 pieces depending on the size). Toss with the juice of 1 lemon and a drizzle of olive oil. You can now store the beets with the light dressing in the refrigerator, to use at a later date if you like. They will keep well for a few days.

To prepare the yogurt dressing pound one large, peeled garlic clove with a little coarse sea salt in a mortar or pestle. You can also do the same using the flat side of a large knife. Stir in 125ml (1/2 cup) Greek yogurt. You may need to add a little bit of water to loosen the dressing if the yogurt is strained and very thick.

Once ready to serve, place the beets on a wide serving dish and sprinkle with a little sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Drop a large dollop of the yogurt on top of the beets. Drizzle everything with some olive oil (you can also use any of the liquid that collected at the bottom of the beets while being stored). Sprinkle with chopped parsley and some nigella seeds (or black onion seeds - you can find these in Indian or Turkish shops).

Serve with warmed pita bread.

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BEETS & BEANS >

SPANISH TAPAS: IBERICO HAM & MANCHEGO >

Chino Farms & the Cult of the Vegetable

This is a fabulous local vegetable producer based in Rancho Santa Fe (just east of Del Mar and north of San Diego). It was started by a Japanese immigrant couple (interned in the US during the Second World War) who were keen to develop a small family business focused on variety and taste. Hence a visit to their Vegetable Shop will no doubt surprise you with its amazing selection on offer, many of which I had rarely ever seen before; purple Japanese sweet potatoes, pink carrots, red kale, candy striped beets all jostle for your attention in a very limited space (it really is just a stand). A summertime visit will produce a similarly extravagant variety of tomatoes and other summer vegetable and fruit offerings.

Don’t bother calling ahead to find out what’s on offer for the day (you just have to show up and see for yourself), don’t try and place an order (unless you are Alice Waters from Chez Panisse fame, who first helped spread the word about Chino Farms and is a big fan herself of the Slow Food movement), but do pay a visit if you are in the San Diego area (about a 20 minute drive from downtown).

Oh, and there are no prices displayed anywhere. Just expect to pay at least double or more what you would pay in a regular supermarket. But boy is it worth the premium.

Roasted yellow beets & Chantenay carrots with walnut dressing

Scrub 1 lb little yellow beets (look for them in farmer’s markets) and 1lb Chantenay carrots (or other baby carrot variety), top and tail them, and cut into chunks (beets in quarters, and carrots in half lengthwise). Place in a roasting dish with a drizzle of olive oil, some fresh or dried thyme leaves and a little sea salt and pepper. Roast @ 200c till golden (around 20-25 minutes).

Transfer to a serving dish and drizzle on a dressing made of 1tsp mustard (I like Tewksbury which has a hint of horesradish in it and is creamier in flavour than dijon), 1tbs sherry vinegar, and 1 tbs walnut oil. Sprinkle a few chopped walnuts and serve.

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ENDIVE, BEET & SOFT GOAT’S CHEESE SALAD >

Beans & Beets

Mixed Endive and soft goat’s cheese curd salad

I was inspired by a similar salad I had the Albion Caff and at Pizza East (though at the latter they used pecorino cheese instead). Super fresh, and really pretty to look at.

How I made it:

In a salad bowl mix together sliced red and yellow endive leaves (I also added a few gem lettuce leaves). Add some cooked red beets cut into chuncks (if you are lucky enough to find golden beets then use a combo) Break up some soft goat’s cheese curd overtop, sprinkle with pistachios, a simple dressing (olive oil, sherry vinegar, grainy mustard), salt, pepper, and some sumac (optional).

Spicy sausage and sprouting broccoli pizza @ Pizza East, Shoreditch, London

The jury is still out amongst my Italian friends on the Pizza East pizzas. They all consider them to be amongst the best pizzas they’ve had in London but they are somewhat perplexed by the almost fried look and taste of the crust. Not quite Italian enough for them I guess. (and don’t get Jamie Oliver started on the subject of Italians and their conservatism around food! Read more about that debate here).

It’s a shame actually that Pizza East emphasises the pizzas so much, as their other offerings - especially their wood burning roasts such as roast chicken for two and braised beef cheeks are really very good indeed.

They also do a fab red and golden beet salad with red and white endives and pecorino cheese shavings. Now that’s a recipe I must try and recreate at home soon.