Beetroot, Orange and Feta Salad

Time to get cooking again after the winter hiatus, which was largely dominated by colds and flus and a memorable trip to Bairnsdale!

A few weeks ago we cooked up this delicious beetroot, orange and feta salad. We initially made it with lemons and limes and without the addition of the yoghurt-feta dressing. We found it a bit sour for our liking. We add feta to just about anything (probably because we buy it in 1kg buckets and we love salt). The end result is a fresh, earthy salad with Middle Eastern flavours.

1 bunch baby beetroots
1 clove garlic, finely crushed
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup rocket leaves
1/2 orange
1/2 lemon
100g feta
1 cup thick yoghurt

Roast beetroots in a medium oven for about 30 minutes until they are tender  (wrap them in foil first).

Whilst beetroot are cooking whisk garlic, lemon juice and olive oil to make a dressing. When beetroot are cooled enough to handle peel them, cut into large wedges and add to the dressing. Season well with salt and pepper.

Peel the citrus fruits and remove all membranes. Using a sharp knife carefully segment the fruit.

Mash the feta and whip it into the yogurt to make a thick dressing.

Arrange the rocket, beetroot and citrus fruits on a plate. Drizzle with the yoghurt dressing.

Orange and almond cake

We found this recipe online whilst looking for gluten free desserts. We have a few kilos of fresh almonds to get through, so spent an afternoon shelling nuts and cooking this up for our gluten free friend!

The use of the whole oranges sounds bizaare (like 80's microwave cake recipes), but gives the cake a deep orange flavour. And because we ground up our own almonds the cake had a crunchier texture than processed almond meal (like poppy seeds but no need to spend the next few hours picking them out of your teeth!!!)

2 oranges, scrubbed and roughly chopped (with skin)

5 eggs, separated

200 g caster sugar

225 g ground almonds

sifted icing sugar 

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and line a 23cm springform tin.

Cut oranges into quarters, remove pips and place in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of water. Place over low heat, cover and cook for 30 minutes until the orange is soft.

Once cooked, puree the orange into a smooth paste (e.g. food processor).

Separate the eggs and whisk the whites until stiff peaks form, then add half the caster sugar- whisk for a further minute. In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks with the remaining sugar until thick and creamy (about 2-3 minutes).

Whisk the orange mixture and ground almonds into the yolk mixture. The gently fold the egg whites in, using a large metal spoon. Place in the prepared tin and cook for 50 -55 minutes.

Leave to cool in the tin.

Serve dusted with icing sugar.