Broad Bean, Beetroot and Green Bean Salad with Watercress Pesto

, from Issue #38. September, 2015
Photography by Aaron McLean.
Broad Bean, Beetroot and Green Bean Salad with Watercress Pesto

A beetroot salad is notoriously difficult to present because of the way beetroot ‘bleeds’ into other ingredients. The trick is to layer rather than toss them together. Use fresh or frozen broad beans for this dish.

Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS

800 grams beetroot, peeled and cut into wedges
300 grams podded broad beans
250 grams round green beans
large handful of picked watercress leaves

Watercress pesto
¼ cup pine nuts or almonds, roasted
1 cup packed watercress, leaves and soft stems
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon water
sea salt

To serve
plain yoghurt, optional
olive oil

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180˚C.

Place the beetroot in a roasting dish, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for 40 minutes, turning occasionally, until tender. Cool. Blanch the broad beans and green beans separately in boiling
salted water. Drain and refresh in cold water. Peel the broad beans and pat the green beans dry on kitchen towels.

Pesto: Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Season with salt.

To serve: Toss the green beans with half the pesto. Spoon half the beetroot onto a serving dish and top with half the broad beans, green beans and watercress. Repeat the layers with the remaining ingredients. Drizzle with yoghurt, olive oil and pepper and serve the remaining pesto separately.