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Harvest Pear, Beetroot and Walnut Salad with barbecued lamb
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
50 mins
Total Time
1 hr 20 mins
 
Adapted (barely) from The Best of Annabel Langbein If croutons aren't your thing, you could easily serve this with crusty bread heated in the oven, or with none at all. Same goes for the lamb. This salad also works well with venison.
Course: Main
Servings: 4
Author: Claudia Brick
Ingredients
  • 3-4 beetroot , peeled and cut into batons about 1.5cm x 4cm (doesn't need to be precise - see above photos!)
  • 3 red onions , cut into wedges (8-10 per onion)
  • 3 large pears , peeled, cored, and each cut into 8 wedges
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3/4 cup walnut halves
  • 5 big handfuls of mixed salad greens (for us this is generally equivalent to one of the supermarket mesclun salad packets, but really depends on how you prefer your greens:extras ratio!)
  • about 120g goats cheese (chèvre style)
  • thick slices of ciabatta or sourdough bread
  • extra 1/4 cup olive oil for croutons.
Dressing
  • 1 tbsp basil pesto (try use the best quality one you can find, or make your own)
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and ground black pepper
Lamb
  • 4 x 200g lamb loins , or similar
  • olive oil and freshly ground salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 220°C. Place beetroot on a baking tray or shallow roasting dish. Place the pears and onion together on a separate dish (see photos above).
  2. In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, brown sugar and balsamic, and divide evenly over the two trays. Mix through with your hands. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  3. Bake for 40-50 minutes, stirring a couple of times so they roast evenly, until the pear and beetroot are tender (you should be able to stick the prongs of a fork through without much resistance).
  4. In a separate tin, spread out the walnuts in a even layer and toast in the oven for about 5min until they start to brown (more than they already are!) and smell nutty - watch carefully, as they go from almost done to burnt very quickly.
  5. Allow beetroot, pears and onions, and walnuts to cool.
  6. Brush each side of the thickly sliced bread with olive oil, and place directly on rack in oven. Making sure the oven is on fan-bake, toast for 5-10 minutes or until golden and crunchy. If these are on a baking tray, you will need to turn them over half way to toast each side evenly.
  7. Mix together the dressing ingredients. Toss the salad greens in a bowl with beetroot, pears, onions, and walnuts. Pour over the pesto dressing and toss to coat. Crumble over the goats cheese (you can also wait and crumble the goats cheese over individual plates at the end).
  8. Meanwhile, heat barbecue plates to medium-high. Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over the lamb and season with salt and pepper. Sear on each side until cooked to medium rare. For loin fillets, this is usually about 2 minutes per side but depends on how thick the meat is and what cut you get. Leave to stand for 3-5minutes, then slice against the grain.
  9. Serve the salad with the lamb and croutons and watch it disappear.