After a day in the garden, this is a lovely autumn salad to come into. If you have a bonfire going, cook the beetroot in the hot embers, or use the barbecue or fire bowl or simply roast them in the oven in the usual way. The trick is to use smallish, new-season beetroot, which are sweeter, earthier and cook more quickly and evenly than older, stored roots. That's why growing a few in your own veg patch can really pay dividends. Look out for ripe pears that are beautifully sweet but still have a little firmness to them. They go so well with the earthy, charred beetroot, particularly with the walnuts, thyme and cheese bringing everything together.
Serves 4
Ingredients
8–10 small beetroot
2 ripe but firm pears
The finely grated zest and juice of 1 large orange
75g walnuts, toasted and roughly crushed
75g goat's cheese or blue cheese
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon runny honey
3–4 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Prepare your fire. It needs to burn back to a nice, hot bed of glowing embers.
Tear off the leaves and stems from the beetroot, if they have them, and give them a good wash. Place the whole beetroot directly into the hot embers and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, turning them regularly as they cook. You want them to become tender all the way through without getting too blackened on the outside. If the fire seems too fierce, move them to a slightly cooler area of the embers. You'll know they're ready when a small sharp knife slips easily into the centre.
Meanwhile, peel the pears, quarter and core them, then cut each quarter into 2 or 3 wedges. Place them in a large bowl with the orange zest and half the orange juice and gently turn them together.
When the beetroot are ready, lift them carefully out of the embers and allow them to cool just enough to handle. Rub away any blackened or charred skin, then trim off the tops and tails and slice the beetroot into rounds.
Add the warm beetroot to the bowl with the pears, along with the thyme leaves, remaining orange juice, honey, crushed toasted walnuts and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and gently tumble everything together.
Arrange the beetroot and pears on a large serving platter, making sure to spoon over all the lovely juices from the bowl. Use a vegetable peeler to shave thin pieces of goat's cheese, or blue cheese if you prefer, over the
salad. Finish with a final trickle of the remaining olive oil, a little more salt and freshly ground black pepper, and serve