Pear, Stilton & Honey Roasted Betroot

There is a farm shop up the road from our house which sells wonderful beetroot called ‘dirty beets’. I tried them roasted in this salad and they were great. The quantity below serves 3 people as a main or 5 as a side salad.

Ingredients

4 large ripe pears

8 beetroot trimmed, scrubbed and peeled

A portion of stilton cheese (I used blue)

Lots of fresh rocket

2 tbs. clear honey

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Dash of olive oil

For the dressing mix the following:

4 tbs. balsamic vinegar

2 tbs. good olive oil

2 tbs. very finely chopped fresh basil

1/4 tsp. sugar

Rock salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

To make

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Slice the prepared beetroot into quarter wedges and boil in a large pan of water for 20 minutes. Drain and add to a large roasting tin with a dash of olive oil. Drizzle the 2 tbsp of clear honey over the beetroots. Add a sprinkling of black pepper. Shake the dish to ensure the beetroot is coated. Roast for 20 minutes or until tender.

While the beetroot are boiling, peel the pears, slice into wedges and remove cores. Place in a small roasting tin and roast for approximately 10 minutes.

Leave to cool separately (otherwise the beetroot will colour the pears).

When you’re ready to eat, add the beetroot and pears to the rocket, crumble the stilton over and mix through the dressing.