Roasted Beet and Pear Salad

Ingredients

• 2 beetroots
• 1 green pear
• 2 tbsps olive oil
• Crushed black peppercorns to taste
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 cup quinoa, cooked
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 2 - 1/2 tablespoons feta cheese cubes
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2-3 iceberg lettuce leaves
• Mustard microgreens for garnishing
• Amaranth microgreens for garnishing
• Balsamic reduction as required

Method

1. Preheat oven at 200°C.
2. Discard the tail of beetroots and place each on an individual aluminium foil. Brush some olive oil on top of each beetroot. Sprinkle some crushed peppercorns and salt and wrap them with the foil.
3. Put them onto an oven proof plate. Place the plate in preheated oven and roast for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.
4. Discard stem and bottom of the pear, cut into small pieces and transfer in a bowl.
5. Add cooked quinoa and mix. Add broken walnuts and mix. Add 1-2 tbspscrumbled feta cheese and mix well.
6. To prepare dressing, combine 2 tbsps olive oil, honey, salt and crushed peppercorns in a bowl and mix well.
7. Peel the roasted beetroots and cut into a star using a small size star cookie cutter and reserve the remaining. Slice the star shaped beetroots and reserve them for garnishing.
8. Cut the remaining beetroots into small pieces,add to quinoa mixture and mix. Add torn lettuce leaves and dressing and mix well.
9. Place the lettuce leaves from the quinoa mixture on a serving platter and put some quinoa mixture on top. Garnish with star shaped beetroots, remaining crumbled feta cheese, mustard microgreens and amaranth microgreens on top.Decorate with few dots of balsamic reduction around.
10. Serve immediately.