ROASTED CARROTS AND BEETROOT, WHIPPED FETA SAUCE AND SPICED NUTS

Name: ROASTED CARROTS AND BEETROOT, WHIPPED FETA SAUCE AND SPICED NUTS
Cuisine: Mediterranean, European
Ingredients: 1 orange, cut in half; ½ lemon; 1½ tbsp honey; 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; 1 heaped tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed; 1 head of garlic, cut in half horizontally; 3 medium carrots, cut in half vertically and then into 8 chunks; 2 medium beetroot (beets), scrubbed and cut in half vertically and then into 6 chunks; sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste; 1–2 tbsp good-quality red wine vinegar (or any red wine vinegar you can get hold of), to your liking; 200g (7oz) feta; 1 crushed garlic clove; 2 tbsp crème fraîche (or yogurt/sour cream); 3 or 4 pieces of focaccia, halved horizontally; 3 small handfuls mint; ¼ red onion, finely sliced; squeeze of lemon juice; 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; 1 tbsp Spiced Nuts

6 steps

This recipe also works brilliantly (without the bread) as a starter or salad. Simply smother the plate with feta sauce, then pile high the dressed roasted veg and leaves and sprinkle over the spiced nuts. If you don’t have the time or energy to embark on this whole recipe, I strongly encourage you to at least try the roasted beets and carrots – they don’t take much time and are delicious as a side or just by themselves with a chunk of bread. Makes enough for 3 large, 4 modest

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 03:14:34 GMT

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Ingredients

4 servings

1 TbspSpiced Nuts

Instructions

Step 1

Heat your oven to 220°C/200°C fan/430°F.

Step 2

In a large mixing bowl, squeeze the juice from the orange and the half lemon and mix in the honey, oil, crushed fennel seeds, the head of garlic and the squeezed-out skins of the citrus. Mix in the carrots and beetroot (beets) and season with salt and pepper. On a large roasting tray, spread out all the veg, ensuring they are not too overcrowded or sparse and roast in the oven for 50 minutes. Keep an eye on them from time to time, turning them so they get an even colour, as they can go dark quicker than you imagine depending on the oven.

Step 3

Prepare the Spiced Nuts.

Step 4

Once your spiced nuts are ready and the veg still cooking away, you can make your feta sauce. Put the feta, 2 tablespoons of water and the crushed garlic in a food processor (or in a bowl and using a wooden spoon) and blitz/mix until it is creamy and soft. Stir through 1–2 tablespoons of crème fraîche, depending on how thick you want it.

Step 5

When the beetroot and carrots are cooked, take out of the oven, drizzle over the vinegar and mix well. If the garlic is not too charred, remove the soft baked cloves and mix them in with the veg. Discard the empty garlic head and the citrus skins. Taste and check for seasoning. Leave the beetroot and carrots for 10 minutes so that they naturally unstick from the pan. You should then be able to scrape some of the roasted goodness from the pan and mix it with any remaining cooking juices and the vinegar you just added to make at least a couple of teaspoons of dressing.

Step 6

Toast your focaccia in a hot frying pan (skillet) on the inside until just browned. Dress the mint and red onion with a squeeze of lemon, a drizzle of oil and season to your liking (heavily, if you want to recreate the taste of The Dusty Knuckle). Spread the feta sauce onto the focaccia halves, then place a big handful of the roasted veg on top, drizzle over the cooking juices and then another dollop of the feta sauce, a generous sprinkling of the Spiced Nuts and then the dressed herbs. Place the top lids on, and you are good to go. If you want to spice it up, a dollop of Harissa goes well.