Beetroot and Pistachio Salad and Home, Sweet Home

I’m home! While what feels like the entire rest of the world is wrapping up warmly and sipping mulled wine, I’m stripping off and drinking my drink of the summer, the Hugo. Not that I’m gloating or anything.

Last Saturday I felt all warm and fuzzy, surrounded by the kindness and love of my best friends. There was a marinated and spatchcocked chicken from the Westmere butcher that required further hacking and which resulted in my hands turning slightly orange. There was coleslaw with Kewpie mayonnaise and Kaya: possibly, nay, probably, the most adorable child in Christendom and beyond. There was smoked snapper, Emma snapping pictures of which two, below, this eggplant salad and eating with hands. There were summer dresses and boys kicking a ball and cheesecake brownies for after.

Sunday was also all about the food; the wonderful Alli of Pease Pudding did what I hope becomes the first of a series of High Teas bringing Kiwi food bloggers together at her cookery school in Muriwai. The salt air, delectable treats, pretty ladies and enormous cats revived me from the after effects of what I am assured is a proper cocktail; Poor Man’s Apple Pie. It involved apple juice. And vodka. I’m not sure that I recommend it.

Every morning I think about what I might say to you all to make this real but I seem able to articulate things only later, when I’ve had some time to absorb them, which disqualifies me for a career in journalism I suppose. So for now, I shall say: mum and her pantry, win. Weather, win. Seeing so many of the people I love whenever I want, WIN!

I’ll be turning 30 on Saturday and there will be another barbeque. Maybe I’ll make this salad. It might be a welcome addition to your Christmas table too; all red and green and rather a nice foil to the richness of everything else.

Posting will probably be a little erratic over the next 5 weeks my lovelies, though I hope to do another interview in the near future and something about how camping food can and should be great.

Peace to you all over the holidays.

Christmas food, tell all! What will grace your table?

Beetroot Salad with Pistachio Sauce

From my best friend Anna, who got it from one of the Moro cookbooks. They call for shredded raw beetroot but in Austria, all I could find was vacuum packed cooked, which also worked well. I also don’t see why you couldn’t use canned. The recipe is otherwise pretty much as is, though I added salt.

Arrange the beetroot in overlapping concentric circles on a plate and drizzle with the oil and lemon juice.

For the Sauce

Whizz all ingredients together in a food processor or with a stick blender.

Pour (dollop) the sauce over the beetroot. Sprinkle with the parsley leaves.

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Tagged as: beetroot, lemon, mint, parsley, pistachio, recipe, vegan