How to make roasted beetroot and pear salad

Step away from the pickled, crinkle cut versions. Beetroot is much better than that. Here Beverley Hicks uses it as it's best: fresh, earthy and rich and roasts it for an autumnal salad

Slice it raw for sandwiches, grate it into risottos or pureed and turned into a creamy soup, it's a versatile ingredient (Photography by Beverley Hicks)

Many people have a strong dislike of beetroot having only experienced the pickled variety. Crinkle-cut and packed in vinegar was the version I grew up with. It was always brought out at Christmas, a favourite with the festive supper and Boxing Day lunch.

Pickled, it is definitely one of those ‘love it or hate it’ foods, but fresh beetroot is in a flavour league of its own.

Its earthy, rich and sweet taste makes it suitable for both sweet and savoury dishes, it is a very versatile ingredient and can be prepared in many ways.

Juiced along with something sweet and acidic like apple it is not only tasty but a very nutritious drink. High in betacarotene and folic acid and a good source of nitrate, beetroot is believed to help cleanse the liver and also assist in lowering blood pressure.

Thinly sliced raw beetroot is delicious in sandwiches or salads. Grated and added at the end of cooking, raw beetroot will transform your risottos. Cooked and pureed with a little stock, cream and seasoning it makes a delicately flavoured and vibrantly coloured soup.

But my favourite way to prepare beetroot is to roast it, which intensifies its natural sweetness and transforms the texture from crunchy to tender and almost silky.

This autumnal salad combines roasted beetroot with sliced sweet conference pears. Nuts and seeds are added for texture and salty pecorino cheese is shaved over the salad to balance out the sweetness of the pears and beetroot. This tasty mix would make a great starter or side dish for an autumn dinner party or a stand-alone healthy and filling lunch.

(Beverley Hicks)

Roasted beetroot and pear salad

Serves 3

For the salad

3 medium beetroot
1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
3 conference pears
1 large lemon
100g baby leaf spinach, washed
1 small red onion, finely sliced
25g pumpkin seeds
Small box of cress, snipped from the roots
20g pecorino, shaved
100g pecans

For the dressing

2 tablespoons avocado oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
A drizzle of honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Drizzle the beetroot with one tablespoon of rapeseed oil and 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, season with salt and pepper and wrap individually in foil.

Put the foil parcels in a baking dish and roast in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on their size. Check after 45 minutes, they should be tender when you insert a fork into them. Remove from the foil, reserving any roasting juices, and put to one side to cool.

As soon as they are cool enough to touch run the beetroots under the cold tap, rubbing gently to remove the skins. Chop into 1cm cubes and set aside to cool completely.

Core and slice the pears and squeeze over the juice of the lemon, making sure to cover them completely to prevent discolouration.

To make the dressing, put the reserved roasting juices into a screw top jar along with all the dressing ingredients and twist the lid on securely. Shake vigorously to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Scatter the spinach leaves onto individual plates and pile the remaining salad ingredients on top, arranging the pear slices to one side. If you want a slightly tarter tasting dressing you can add any remaining lemon juice from the pears to the dressing and give it another shake.

Drizzle the dressing over the salad and finish with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Follow Beverley @thelittlechelseakitchen​