Beetroot & Sourdough Panzanella
If you want something a bit different on your Christmas table, may we suggest this hearty and colourful panzanella salad. A few special ingredients worthy of a Christmas spread, this salad would be perfect on a table with a traditional roast, but fits in just as nicely on our more casual one with a glazed ham. The addition of the lemon and fennel olive oil just makes this side dish truly special.
Ingredients
- Daily Bread Smoked Rye Sourdough
- 5 large beetroot
- 1/2 red onion
- 3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
- 4 Tbsp Al Brown & Co Lemon & Fennel infused olive oil
- 1 large orange
- 120g ricotta salata (we got ours from Sabato)
- 1 cup torn fresh herbs (we used dill, parsley and tarragon)
- S&P
Method
- Pre-heat your oven to 180°C fan bake.
- Get any dirt off your beetroot, then place in a baking dish with about 2cm of water. Cover dish with tinfoil and bake in the oven for 45-60 minutes, until nice and tender. Leave to cool.
- Thinly slice the red onion, and put in a small bowl with the white wine vinegar and a pinch of salt. Set aside to get pickled.
- Cut the roof of your sourdough, then rip out the innards, tearing them up into small chunks. Toss in a bowl with 2 Tbsp oil (or bacon fat/pork lard) to coat, season with S&P and bake, tossing half way, until bread is golden with nice crispity edges (about 10 minutes).
- Once beetroot is at a temp you can handle, pick them up one by one with a power towel. Here you will learn your new favourite trick - the skins should just slide off, no more mucky red hands or time spent navigating the peeler. Cut into chunks - halves or quarters depending on size - and place in a bowl. Add onion with the pickling liquid.
- Peel the orange and remove any pith. Segment the orange by cutting between the membranes (we reckon it looks pretty fancy). Do this bit over the bowl with the beetroot, it can get juicy. Once all segmented, squeeze the remaining orange to get all the juices into the bowl.
- Add the sourdough pieces and the remaining oil/fat and toss to combine.
- Just before serving, fold in the crumbled ricotta salata and herbs, leaving a bit of each to top it off, with a drizzle of oil and vinegar and a season of S&P.
Inspired by and adapted from Bon Appetit