Endive, blue cheese, beetroot and pear salad

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

• 1 large beetroot
• Olive oil
• 50ml red wine vinegar
• 50g demerara brown sugar
• ½ red onion, fine sliced
• 100ml white wine vinegar
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 pear, firm, peeled, cored and halved
• 16 walnuts, crushed
• 2 endives
• 100g mature blue cheese, crumbed

Dressing

• 55ml sherry vinegar
• 1tsp mustard powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 clove garlic, finely diced
• 20g black pepper
• 25g caster sugar
• 100ml vegetable oil
• 100ml olive oil

Method

• Firstly, preheat the oven to 180Cand place the tinfoil-wrapped beetroot in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil, seasoning with salt and pepper. Cook for 90 minutes until soft. Once cooked, remove and peel (careful with your hands) Next, dice into 1cm cubes.
• Turn the oven down and warm through the walnuts for 5 minutes.
• Next, boil the red wine vinegar and sugar in a pan until the sugar is dissolved and has the consistency of jam. Then, remove from the heat, add in the red onion, and set aside.
• In another pot, boil the white wine vinegar and caster sugar. Once dissolved, leave to cool. Place the pear into the liquor and leave until ready to serve.
• For the dressing, mix all the ingredients together, whisking if necessary.
• Now, you are ready to construct your salad. Firstly, place the endive on the plate and dress with the beetroot, pear, and crumbled blue cheese. To finish, drizzle over the dressing and garnish with crushed walnuts.