Roasted carrot & beetroot salad with coffee dressing

Stuart Ovenden

A winter salad of sweet roasted veg, salty feta and a bitter coffee dressing

“THE SLIGHTLY BITTER COFFEE FLAVOUR WORKS BRILLIANTLY WITH THE SWEETNESS OF THE VEG AND THE SALTY FETA CHEESE”

Coffee may seem like an unusual ingredient to add to a dressing, but the slightly bitter flavour combination here works brilliantly, especially when paired with the sweetness of the caramelised veg and the salty feta cheese. I like to use a mix of heritage carrot and beetroot varieties to add a bit of colour, but whatever you can get your hands on will be just as tasty.

Prep

15 mins

Cook

30 mins

Serves

4 as a side

Difficulty

Easy

Ingredients

For the salad

500g carrots
500g beetroot, peeled
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
50g hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
150g feta, crumbled
A good handful of fresh parsley, leaves picked

For the dressing

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp strong espresso
1 tsp honey

Method

Heat the oven to 200C.

All the pieces of veg need to be of a similar thickness before roasting, so halve any chunkier carrots lengthways. Quarter or halve the beetroot, depending on the size. Toss the veg and olive oil together in a large, shallow roasting tin, along with a good pinch of sea salt and cracked black pepper. Roast for 30 mins, turning occasionally. Set aside to cool for 10 mins.

Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a bowl, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Pile the warm veg onto a serving dish or platter, then scatter over the toasted hazelnuts, feta and parsley. Spoon over the dressing and serve immediately.

Image: Stuart Ovenden