Romanesco, Beetroot & Apple Salad

I recently bought a bunch of beetroot from the supermarket with no idea what I was going to do with them. I generally like to plan meals a bit, especially with an ingredient I don't often buy (or it sits there until its too late and its thrown away!). But I like beetroot and knew I'd think of something.

I decided on boiling the beets rather than roasting and as they cooled, I decided on a salad to go with a steak and some simple buttered new potatoes. Romanesco is a vegetable that is like a cross between broccoli and cauliflower, slightly more like cauliflower, and is a vivid green colour which is why I chose it to go with the brightly coloured beetroot. With a crunch of apple - delicious!

Ingredients:

1 large raw beetroot
1/2 Romanesco, florets cut small
1/2 small red onion, sliced
1 eating apple, chopped
handful pine nuts

Dressing:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
pinch sugar
salt & pepper

Method:

Cut most of the stem off the unpeeled beetroot, leaving about an inch (this will stop the colour bleeding into the water). Boil for up to 50 minutes. You can tell when the beetroot is cooked of you pinch the skin and it comes away easily. Drain and cool for 5 minutes and push off the skin with your fingers. Chop and set to one side. Make up the salad dressing and set to one side too.

Steam the Romanesco for about 3 minutes to keep its texture and put into a large salad bowl with the sliced onion and chopped apple. Tip in the pine nuts and pour in the dressing. Toss well and put onto a serving plate. Now you can add the beetroot (if you toss the beetroot with the salad, the colour will stain everything).

Serve with a few more pine nuts as a main salad with crusty bread or as a side with a steak. Colourful, crunchy and packed with flavour and health!