Guest Post: Beet and Carrot Salad with a Caramelized Onion Vinaigrette

There is nothing like sitting down in the summer, and enjoying a tasty salad made from the freshest ingredients that England has to offer. I find organic vegetables are great in salads. They have a lot more flavour, and I love finding new recipes to bring out the best 
in these simple ingredients.

Root vegetable salad makes the perfect summer side dish.  It is at the same time both light and filling, and I love the crunchy texture the vegetables give salads. A vinaigrette dressing will really enhance the natural flavour of the vegetables and adding caramelised onions to the dressing will bring a surprise to the dish!

Julienne Technique

Well developed julienne chopping techniques can be used to improve the appearance of many dishes. Vegetables are cut up into the finest matchstick pieces and can be used to inject colour and beauty to any dish.

 

What I love the most about the technique is how it makes these root vegetables melt in your mouth. The ideal julienne cut should be two inches long, fitting perfectly into your mouth, allowing you take in lots of flavours in one bite.

 

The OCD Chopping Board - Veg preparation perfection!

I used to spend so much time lining up my knife so that my vegetables were cut the exact same size. I would look at what I had cut, and what I was about to cut. Then, I would very carefully move the knife until it was lined up to cut the perfect julienne. As you can imagine this took forever!

 

This amazing chopping board has lines etched into the surface. They guide your knife with exact precision so you can cut the perfect julienne and reduce your preparation time!

 

Beet and Carrot Salad, with a Caramelised Onion Vinaigrette Dressing

 Serves 6

Printable Recipe

This recipe mixes it up, with some caramelised onions added to the vinaigrette dressing. Adding the onions to the dressing ensure the delicious sweetness is diffused throughout the dish.The onions are julienned to perfection and then slowly cooked over a medium heat, until golden brown. It can be used as a side dish or served with fresh bread and grilled chicken as a light meal.

INGREDIENTS:

Salad:

4 cups roughly grated carrots

4 cups julienned beetroot

Dressing:

¼ cup onions julienned to 1”

½ cup olive oil

4 tablespoons orange juice

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh dill

1 tablespoon honey

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

First caramelise the onions, julienne into ¼ by 1 inch pieces. Place 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan over a moderate heat. Add the onion and cook for 18 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until golden brown.

Next, place the ingredients for the dressing into a bowl and whisk together until well blended. Leave this to one side while you prepare the root vegetables for the salad.

I truly believe better looking food tastes better and it is always worth putting time into the presentation. Another great idea that I stole from chinese cuisine, is to add one or two decorative flowers. All you have to do is to take a slice of carrot and cut out the outline of a flowers.

About the Author: Sophie is from hungryhouse the UK’s leading delivery portal to order your takeaway   online. She is a food, travel and lifestyle blogger, who enjoys nothing more than combining the three.

Many thanks to Sophie for an informative post and a great recipe!

I have some guest posts over HERE this weekend!  I'm blogging about Street Party Food!  It's in three PARTS.http://mypassionforfood.co.uk/