ROAST BEETROOT AND GRAPE SALAD

The nutty crumble in this salad makes more than you will need, but it’s incredibly moreish and would be rather nice to serve with drinks. Grapes become extra sweet and juicy when roasted, and are a wonderful contrast to the earthy beetroot, spicy crumble and salty cheese. This will keep well in an airtight container for a week.

Serves 6

50G PECAN NUTS 50G ALMONDS

50G PISTACHIOS 40G PUMPKIN SEEDS 20G GOLDEN LINSEEDS 20G SUNFLOWER SEEDS 20G SESAME SEEDS 10G POPPY SEEDS

2 TBSP MAPLE SYRUP 1 TBSP SUNFLOWER OR OLIVE OIL

1 TSP CUMIN SEEDS

½ TSP SMOKED PAPRIKA 1 BUNCH BEETROOT (ABOUT 5 SMALL-MEDIUM), IDEALLY WITH LEAVES

350G BLACK SEEDLESS GRAPES

3 TBSP EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

1 TBSP BALSAMIC VINEGAR 3 RED CHICORY

100G VEGAN GREEK-STYLE CHEESE, CRUMBLED

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan oven) gas mark 4 and line a baking tray with baking paper.

2 Start by making the nutty crumble. Roughly chop all the nuts, tip into a bowl and add the seeds, maple syrup, oil, cumin seeds and paprika. Season with sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper and mix well. Spread out on the lined baking tray and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through until the mixture is crisp and starting to caramelise and clump together. Leave to cool and then store either in a jar or airtight container until ready to serve.

3 Trim any leaves and stalks off the beetroot, washing and chilling any nice small leaves for the salad. Place the whole beetroots in a small foil-lined roasting tin, season and add a splash of water. Cover and roast for about 40 minutes until tender when tested with the point of a knife. Leave to cool and then carefully remove the skins – they should rub off easily between your hands. Cut each beetroot into bite-size wedges.

4 Separate the grapes into smaller bunches of 3 or 4 grapes and place in another foil-lined roasting tin. Drizzle with 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, season and roast for about 30 minutes until soft and juicy. Lift the grapes from the pan, leaving the roasting juices behind. Whisk the balsamic vinegar into the pan juices and leave the grapes and dressing to cool to room temperature.

5 Separate the chicory leaves and arrange on plates with any reserved beetroot leaves. Settle the beetroot wedges and roasted grapes among the leaves and scatter over the cheese. Drizzle with the dressing and scatter with nutty crumble to serve.

countryliving.com/uk