pickled beetroot salad with goats cheese, asparagus and an orange maple vinaigrette

lightly pickled beetroot salad with asparagus, goats cheese and an orange maple vinaigrette
I am not a big fan of pickled beetroot. In fact its because of it that I never went near this vegetable throughout my childhood and teenage years. It was only when I ate it roasted for the first time that I did an about turn, and fell instantly in love.
However I do like pickles and preserves, so thought I would try a light recipe. Inspired by Vietnamese pickled daikon and carrots which just add a touch of crunch and sour.
This recipe is ridiculously easy and requires no boiling and missioning.
I made quite a bit because I had so much of it, but you can just halve the quatities and do less.
For the pickle you will need: 2 cups of water, 2 Tbs of rice wine vinegar, 2 tbs of sugar and 4 tsp of salt.
Mix all the ingredients together until the sugar and salt has dissolved. If you like a sweeter pickle add more sugar.
I peeled and finely sliced beetroot in my food processor, which made about 3 full cups. I immersed these in the pickle, covered and refrigerated for a couple of days. You could eat after a day or so.
I made an orange vinaigrette to compliment the beetroot and the earthy goats cheese.
Orange maple vinaigrette: 2 Tbs orange juice, 2 Tbs olive oil, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp maple syrup, salt and pepper
I steamed a few spears of asparagus which are in the height of their season. I am a firm believer in never cooking asparagus for more than 5 minute. They need to retain their awesomeness through a very light blanch.

I then assembled the pickled beetroot slices, with the asparagus spears, crumbled goats cheese and toasted pine kernels. Arranged a few mixed salad leaves and drizzled over the vinaigrette.
Salty and sweet, raw, cooked, roasted and pickled, this salad is a texture and flavour adventure.

Damn, that’s a good looking salad
Thank you Jan 🙂
So beautiful, looks like a perfect summer lunch 🙂
Thanks Lori, I do try 😉 xx
Stunning blog Sam ! Very inspirational , want to try everything ! XX Well done !
Thank you so much Lara :-). Please visit again.
Beautiful beetroot! I share your love for it and these recipes were surely an inspiration. Thanks for this beautiful blog you’ve created with so much passion, love and artistry. I love it and have been visiting weekly for the last 6 months. Please keep going!!!
HI Dirkie, Thank you so much for your very kind words, made my day :-). I am so glad you enjoy my blog. A couple more beetroot recipes comeing up next week and then I think I am all ‘beetrooted out’ for a while.
Sam
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