Coriander dressed Beetroot with Honeyed Goats Cheese & Walnuts

..and there are oranges too! Now that might seem like a lot of ingredients which could imply a lot of work but not a bit of it.  This is one of those wow, looks amazing dishes that is super simple to prepare.  It’s based on a recipe that I saw demonstrated by Sebastian of The River Lee Hotel at The Cork Summer Show last weekend (for pictures see previous post).  Sebastian used 15ml of truffle oil when he mixed the goats cheese with the honey but as I don’t have any of that rather expensive condiment in my cupboards I left it out.

I decided to introduce some honey sweetened walnuts as well, inspired by the walnuts that appeared alongside the goats cheese and beetroot starter at Derry & SallyAnne Clarke’s L’Ecrivain.  I had an amazing lunch there a couple of weeks ago with some fellow food bloggers courtesy of Sacla’ Italia.
Excuse the darkness of the plate as lighting was low and the plate was a black slate but doesn’t it look really pretty?
So on to my own efforts.  Another thing I should perhaps mention is that as coriander was the only green leaf in my fridge that is what was used to dress the plate.  Personally, I love the taste of coriander but if you find it a bit overpowering maybe use baby spinach leaves or frisee.

Serves 2-3
You will need:
2 small cooked beetroots (I buy mine pre-cooked and vac-packed)
50ml extra virgin olive oil
50ml orange juice (juice of 2 to 3 oranges)
1 orange (segments of)
15ml honey = 1 tbsp for the walnuts
Small handful whole walnuts
20ml honey = 1 tbsp + 1 tsp for the cheese
100g soft goats cheese ( I used Ardsallagh)
Leaves to garnish (I used coriander)
Method:
Thinly slice one beetroot and chop the other into small dice and place in a bowl.
Peel and segment the orange and add to the beetroot with 50ml orange juice and 50ml extra virgin olive oil and leave to marinate.
Heat a frying pan on a medium to high heat.
Chop the walnuts in half and add to the hot pan with 1 tbsp of honey, it should start to bubble and foam.
Stir well and cook for a couple of minutes until the walnuts have taken on a nice caramelised glaze.
Mix the goats cheese with the 20ml of honey, mixing well and then spoon a dollop onto each plate.  (If you use two spoons you can shape the dollops into quenelle shapes.)
Dress the plate with the beetroot, orange segments, honeyed walnuts and salad leaves.
Enjoy.
Til next time, Sheila
p.s. if you do use honey to glaze your walnuts, place the pan back on the heat filled with water afterwards to clean it as it will harden and stick to the pan.