La Chatte Gitane (or The Gypsy Cat) was the name we chose for our cottage in France at the time. We chose it while on the road, moving house the first time round, from Ireland to France with 2 dogs and 7 cats in the car.
This blog began its insignificant life as a recipe book for friends and family who would ask me repeatedly for a recipe of this, that and the other.
Since then it has taken many different directions, like we did and like gypsies tend to do. Sometimes making a U-turn and revisiting familiar roads and taking a break when necessary.
You'll find recipes here, but also musings about the places we've called home, the gardens that we've established, not always successfully, the homes we've improved and the environments we've lived in. Currently, after yet another stint in Ireland, we're back in France @ Le Mas d'Ayen

Friday, July 15, 2011

Beetroot and Feta Salad


I just couldn't wait any longer to have a taste of the beetroot we are growing.  They were therefore on the small side, but it didn't take away from the flavour.
I love that sweet, earthiness of the beets and the colour and it works well with the saltiness of the feta.



Ingredients  (which I used)
  • 10 small beets (smaller than a ping pong ball)
  • 150 grs feta (from sheep milk)
  • 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 2 tbsp chopped mint
  • 2 tsp honey
  • Juice of 1 lemon (the zest I used in the courgette fritters)
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper 
Preparation
  • Wash the beets thoroughly and cut off the leaves,  leaving stalks of about 3 cm (btw, you can also eat the leaves in a salad or sauteed like spinach, but this time I gave them to the chicks and they were very appreciative)
  • Put in a cooking pot covered with water on the hob. Cook until tender (al dente)
  • In the meantime make your dressing with all the other ingredients and crumble in your feta.
  • When the beets are cooked, you can drain  off the liquid, cut the beets in half and add them to the dressing whilst still hot.
  • Toss and leave to cool, put in fridge or a cool place till serving (I know ! You can use this as a warm salad too)
I served this salad with courgette fritters, panfried pollock and salmon.


4 comments:

  1. Hm ... it doesn't look very tasty to me. Sorry! But then, I don't like beetroot at all. It reminds me of my dad's illness. He drank gallons of beetroot juice to get rid of the cancer that was in his body. To no avail. :-(

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  2. Thanks Rachel.

    Oh Myriam, you're nothing if not 'brutally' honest. ;-))
    If you don't like beetroot, you don't like it. Fair enough. :)

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  3. Hey Patricia,
    Op je blog was ik al komen kijken maar nu zag ik pas je site, prachtig zeg waar jullie wonen. Als ik straks wat tijd heb lees ik is alles. Gaat iets trager voor mij want ben niet zo vertrouwd met de Engelse taal ;)
    Ik moet af en toe is wat woorden opzoeken om te vertalen ;)

    ReplyDelete

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