Salad of Roasted Beetroot, Blood orange and Cumin Macadamia Nuts

Serves 8
A special request from my friend Dale, here is a great recipe for using fresh beetroot, a totally different experience to eating the ones from a can! This salad is great for and entrée, or is a great accompaniment to grilled seafood.

Ingredients
8 beetroot, trimmed, leaving 1cm of the stem
24 Asparagus spears
1 red witlof
1 white witlof
2 bunch curly endive
8 blood oranges, peeled and sliced into rings
100g macadamia nuts
20g butter
1 teaspoon cumin

Salad Dressing

50ml white wine vinegar
50ml walnut oil
150ml extra virgin olive oil

Whisk together, season to taste

Saffron Orange Syrup
1 litre orange juice (strain)
100ml lemon juice (strain)
pinch saffron

Reduce juice and saffron until it reaches a syrup like consistency, cool to room temperature and whisk in and equal quantity or grapeseed oil. Grape seed oil has a mild flavour, and is not fatty in the mouth, it is important not to substitute other types of oil.

Method

Wash and dry the beetroot, wrap in foil and bake in a tray for 1 hour in a preheated oven at 180C. Remove from oven, set aside and allow to cool. Peel and cut into 1cm wedges.

In a heavy based frypan melt butter add macadamia nuts and cumin, stir continuously until the butter has browned. Remove from pan wrap in glad wrap and crush lightly.

Blanch the asparagus in salty water for 1 minute, plunge into iced water, remove and set aside.

Combine red and white witlof, endive and toss with the salad dressing and place on serving plates, top with beetroot, asparagus, orange slices and macadamia nuts. Drizzle with saffron orange syrup.