If you were to peek into my fridge on any given day you could be forgiven for assuming a very greedy person lived in this house. Jar apon little jar of all manner of sauce, dressing, relish and pickle line the shelves. It’s not that I’m greedy per se, it’s just that I really like having lots of tasty options on hand to spruce up simple lunches, snacks and dinner. That bright jar of pickled red onion you see to the left? That can be added to salads, burgers, pizza or grain bowls and little of the pickling vinegar mixed with olive oil can form a 2-second salad dressing. Those fermented carrots you see to the right? They can also be added to salads, their zingy juices adding their own dressing all in one. That jar of homemade tomato relish you see… makes the best cheese toasties when spread underneath a generous layer of cheddar, or atop crackers for a mid-afternoon snack.
When you have a dip, sauce, dressing, pickle or relish so full of flavour, you can afford to keep the rest of the dish relatively simple. Case in point, this deliciously simple salad. With a simple base of peppery watercress and cooked beetroot, the real pièce de résistance comes in the form of the horseradish-laced crème fraiche, which takes this salad from yum… to delicious.
You can find fresh watercress at selected fruit & vegetable stores, farmers markets and health-food stores. It tends to wilt very quickly once picked. To remedy this, as soon as you get it home place it into a big bowl of ice-cold water, set aside 10-15 minutes before draining and spinning in a salad spinner. Find crème fraiche at the supermarket in the cheese section and grated horseradish in jars in the condiment area.
Serve 4
2 large handfuls watercress
1/4 red onion, finely sliced
1/4 cup walnuts, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
Extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle
Horseradish crème fraiche
175ml (3/4 cup) crème fraiche
3-4 teaspoons grated horseradish
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Fine sea salt
Slice each beetroot into 8 wedges and arrange on plates along with the watercress, red onion and walnuts. Combine horseradish crème fraiche ingredients in a small bowl, season with salt. If you’d like it to be a bit more of a dressing, add a tablespoon or two of cold water, until desired consistency is achieved. Drizzle a little olive oil over each salad and dollop with horseradish crème fraiche. Serve immediately.
NB: To cook beetroot, trim leaves, allowing 1-2cm of stalk to remain at the top. Place into a saucepan, cover with plenty of cold water, bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook 30-45 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside until cool enough to handle. Slip off the skins.
NB: To toast walnuts, preheat oven to 180C (350F). Place nuts onto an oven tray and roast 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until golden. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
