Chicon, Roasted Beetroot and Orange Salad with Walnuts and Goat’s Cheese

Chicons, or Belgian endives as they are called elsewhere, are one of my favourite winter vegetables. In Belgium you find them on every table from autumn to spring: braised, baked in a gratin, or sliced raw into a salad when you want something fresh and crunchy.

Here they meet the Southwest: a walnut oil dressing, roasted beetroot, juicy orange and a little goat’s cheese. Bitter leaves like chicons get your digestion going, and their slight bitterness balances the sweetness of the beetroot and the orange. A spoonful of buckwheat turns it into a proper lunch that keeps you going until dinner.

If you’d like help building lunches that suit your body and your days, book a free 20-minute call with me.

Servings

2

Prep time

20 Min

Cook time

50 Min

Total time

1 Hr 10 Min

Print

With ImageWithout Image

Chicon, Roasted Beetroot and Orange Salad with Walnuts and Goat’s Cheese

A colourful winter salad of red and white chicons, roasted beetroot, orange and goat’s cheese, with buckwheat and a walnut oil dressing. A gluten-free autumn lunch.

Ingredients

For the salad

• 2 medium raw beetroots, about 300 g (10 oz)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 white chicons (Belgian endives)
• 1 red chicon, or a few radicchio leaves
• 1 orange
• 60 g (⅓ cup) buckwheat or quinoa
• 40 g (⅓ cup) walnuts
• 60 g (2 oz) soft goat’s cheese
• A handful of lamb’s lettuce or rocket

For the dressing

• 2 tablespoons walnut oil
• 1 tablespoon orange juice, saved from the orange
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ½ teaspoon honey
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), or 180°C fan. Rub the beetroots with the olive oil, wrap them in foil and roast for 45 to 60 minutes, until a knife slides in easily. Leave to cool, then peel and cut into wedges.
2. Meanwhile, rinse the buckwheat or quinoa and cook it in salted water for 12 to 15 minutes, until just tender. Drain and leave to cool.
3. Toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan for 3 to 4 minutes and chop them roughly.
4. Cut the peel and pith off the orange with a sharp knife, then cut out the segments over a bowl to catch the juice.
5. Whisk the walnut oil with 1 tablespoon of the orange juice, the vinegar, mustard, honey, salt and pepper.
6. Cut a small cone out of the base of each chicon to remove the bitter core, then separate the leaves or slice them thickly.
7. Arrange the chicons and lamb’s lettuce on two plates. Add the beetroot, orange segments and buckwheat, crumble over the goat’s cheese, scatter with the walnuts and drizzle with the dressing.

Short on time?

Use vacuum-packed cooked beetroot and the salad is ready in 20 minutes.

Less bitter chicons

Red chicons are milder than white ones, and removing the core makes a big difference.

Make it vegan

Leave out the goat’s cheese and add a few spoonfuls of cooked chickpeas or lentils.

Gluten-free

Buckwheat is naturally gluten-free, despite its name.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @catherinepolet.coach on instagram and hashtag it #healthydeliciousrecipes