Feast - August 2011 - Beetroot Salad

There is a new food magazine on the Aussie landscape. Coming from the SBS stable is a wonderful magazine. It is full of some amazing recipes and wonderful articles. Recipes from many different cuisines. I have to admit to being completely engrossed with this magazine right from the start. My only small issue is with something in the editor's opening remarks: 

"Some of the ingredients may not be on your local supermarket shelves, but we believe unearthing new flavours, food stores and neighbourhoods is all part of the culinary adventure". 

That is all well and good if you are living in a major city or even in an area with a diverse population however there are those of us that do not live in areas where there are an Asian supermarket, Middle Eastern deli, Indian grocer etc, etc. There is only so much that can be purchased over the internet or by mail order. I am passionate about food, I love to create and try new recipes and cuisines. I make do with the resources that I have available. While I understand the desire to push people to move out of their comfort zones and explore, I would have thought that for a wider appeal for their magazine perhaps offering alternative ingredients would help people out. Yes, I can sit here and google what might be an appropriate substitute but sometimes it would be nice to have a suggestion from the author of the recipe.

Okay, now that I have vented that I will move on. I was quite taken with the feature on Argentine food in this issue. I was particularly taken with the look of two of the dishes, the Beef & Corn Pie and the Beetroot Salad. I ended up making both of these dishes on the one night. I was completely torn by these recipes. The Beetroot salad was absolutely to die for. I was so in love with it. The combination of the beetroot, potato, onion with a balsamic dressing was amazing. I have made it a number of times since and will definitely be making it again and again. The pie, however, was really not for me. The picture looked wonderful, the recipe sounded fine, I like all the ingredients in it but put it all together and I just didn't like it. There were two different fillings, a beef layer topped by a puréed corn/egg layer and it just didn't seem to meld for me. It was a lot of work and a lot of ingredients so I was really disappointed. The salad though was glorious and that is the recipe that I am going to be sharing with you. 

Beetroot Salad (Ensalada de Betarraga) 

Ingredients: 

• 1 large white onion, thinly sliced (I used a red onion) 
• 1 tbsp salt
• hot water
• 4 beetroot, roasted until cooked
• 2 large desiree potatoes, peeled and diced 
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar 
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Method: 

• Combine onion and salt and then cover in hot water. Stand for 15 minutes and then drain and rinse. 
• Peel roasted beetroot and then dice to the same size as the potato. (The recipe said to slice thinly, I find it better diced.)
• Add potatoes, 1 tsp salt and white wine vinegar to water and boil until tender and then drain. 
• Combine onion, beetroot and potatoes. Dress with balsamic and olive oil and season to taste.