nutty beetroot, nashi pear and carrot salad

nutty beetroot, nashi pear and carrot salad

Salads don't have to be boring. I feel a spot of singing coming on; "all things bright and beautiful"! This rather sums up both how gorgeous and vibrant this salad looks and rather sums up how it tastes too.

For someone who never used to like beetroot, it feels a bit weird now that I don't seem to be able to get enough of the stuff. Raw beetroot has a beautiful sweet and earthy base note which works really well with tart nashi (Asian) pears. (If you have never had a nashi pear, it tastes a bit like a cross between an apple and a pear. I think you can buy them in most of the major supermarkets in UK - I bought mine in Sainsburys).

Musty-smelling cumin in the dressing gives the whole salad a bit of a smoky flavour and balances out some of the "earthiness". If you are not planning on serving this immediately, I wouldn't dress it until the last minute - for some reason, dressings made with lemon or lime juice seem to develop strange flavours over time. (Of course, that just might be me!)

Skill level: Easy
ingredients:

ingredients:

3 tbsp cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lime
2 tsp ground cumin
salt, to taste
1 medium uncooked beetroot, peeled and shredded
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
1 nashi pear, peeled and cut into thin strips
1 tbsp sesame seeds
25g walnuts, chopped

directions:

• Combine the olive oil, lime juice and cumin in a small jar. Put the lid on and give a good shake until the dressing is emulsified. Add salt to taste.
• I really wanted to make this with a vegetable spiralizer, to give flowing strings of vegetables. Sadly I had to make do with my sturdy box grater to shred the beetroot and carrot. Place the grated vegetables and sliced nashi pear into a medium-sized bowl.
• Toss with dressing.
• Sprinkle over the sesame seeds and chopped walnuts.