I’ve spoken a little bit about my adventures in gymnastics before. I tend to get funny looks when I mention it as its not that common in Ireland for women of a certain age to still be throwing themselves at a crashmat in the hope that something beautiful will result. I love it tho, I’m no Nadia but I’m pretty strong, reasonably fit and it helps keep me that way. I hope to keep it up for as long as I can as it is fantastic all round workout and good fun. This week tho’ I have struggled with work and other stuff which kept me away from my class. To compensate, I decided to try eat really clean for the week since I wasn’t getting my normal quotient of exercise in. This salad was dinner last night – beautiful beetroot paired with goats cheese and some pine nuts for crunch. I love it for it’s flavour but its also a real winner nutritionally, rich in antioxidants and nutrients, great for cardio vascular health and tastes so yummy. My mother used to love eating the beetroot that came from a jar – she loved the pickling juices. Me, not so much – I prefer to buy fresh beetroot and roast it if I can, or to buy the vac packed version. Either way this is delicious – pack the rest in a lunch box the next day to bring to work and have with some crunchy veggies like carrots and celery.

500 gr beetroot.
1 garlic clove peeled mashed and crushed.
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.
5 tbsp Greek style natural yoghurt.
.5 tbsp of balsamic vinegar.
1 tbsp of spice mix like my garam masala from here or a bought version.
Salt and Pepper.

Set aside 100gr of beetroot
Put everything bar the yoghurt into the blender and blend well to a puree.
Add the yoghurt and pulse till mixed.
Season with salt and pepper, taste and if you are happy, tip into a bowl.
Chop the remaining beetroot into small dice and incorporate into the beetroot puree. This gives a lovely texture that
is not all smooth puree.

Plate up as shown with your goats cheese of choice, some toasted pine nuts and a selection of dressed salad leaves. I put a metal ring (like a scone cutter) onto the plate and filled it with the beetroot and lifted the ring away to make a nice shape, but that’s optional! I had some left over baby potatoes which I tossed in oil and herbs and roasted in the oven for a few minutes which I also used. Just delicious!.

And plenty over the next day for dipping with some Pitta crisps brushed with oil and baked in the oven for about 5 minutes.