Beetroot and Orange Salad

 Beetroot and Orange Salad

  Serves 4
  So pretty on the plate, and delicious too. This colourful salad is a lovely fresh dish to have with a more traditional and heavy meal. Serve this beetroot and orange salad as a beautifully light first course, or make it as a large platter as part of the festive buffet.
  6–8 beetroot, peeled, cut into wedges
  1 tablespoon honey
  2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  2 tablespoons light olive oil
  salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
  2 oranges, segmented
  ½ red onion, thinly sliced
  2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves
 
  Preheat the oven to 220°C. Cover a baking tray with a large piece of foil and top with the raw beetroot wedges. Combine the honey, half the balsamic vinegar and 1 teaspoon of the oil. Drizzle the honey mixture over the uncooked or canned beetroot and season to taste. Enclose the beetroot in foil and cook for 45 minutes. Open the foil and cook for a further 15 minutes.
  Meanwhile, combine the remaining oil and balsamic vinegar in a small jug. Arrange the beetroot, orange segments and onion on a plate. Drizzle with dressing and top with mint.
  TIP Canned baby beetroot are ideal for this salad if there isn’t time to cook and prepare raw beetroot. If you do decide to go with the canned option, rinse and drain the beetroot, and use only half the amount of balsamic vinegar.