Roasted Beet Salad with Dates & Blue Cheese

This fulfilling salad it is rich in unexpected flavours. Earthy roasted beets are tempered by piquant blue cheese and the sweetness of dates. What a delightful lunch idea!

Serves: 4

Prepare: 10 minutes, plus cooling

Cook: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 500g fresh beetroot, trimmed, scrubbed and cut into 1-2 cm wedges, reserving the stems
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 40g walnuts
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 6 pitted Medjool dates, very roughly chopped
• 4 celery sticks, thinly sliced, plus the leaves from the bunch
• 250g black or green lentils, already cooked
• 100g blue cheese (Roquefort or Gorgonzola)

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C, gas mark 7. Put the beetroot into a large roasting tin, toss with 1 tbsp oil and roast in a single layer for 25 minutes, until tender. Chop the beetroot stems into short lengths, then toss through the beets after 20 minutes, adding the walnuts too.

2. Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 1 tbsp oil with the apple cider vinegar and mustard in a large bowl and season (it might seem sharper than usual vinegraittes, but it needs to counter the sweetness of the beetroot and dates). Add the dates and sliced celery.

3. Let the beetroot mixture cool for 10 minutes. Tip the beetroot mixture on top of the celery with the lentils; toss together. Arrange the salad on 4 serving plates, scatter with the celery leaves and the cheese in chunks or slices. Drizzle over any leftover dressing or olive oil and serve.

Tip: You can cook your lentils a day ahead or use pre-packed lentils that need only heating up when you prepare the salad.