Thoughts, inspiration and stories from an Australian foodie in California

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Farmer's Market

One thing I love about a Saturday morning, is taking it easy... cycling my bike into the Danville Farmer's Market and loading up my pannier with fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables. This week the weather was fabulous - blue skies and relatively warm for a winter day in the Bay Area. I really enjoyed being out in the fresh air, stopping at my favorite cafe - Sideboard, for a fresh coffee and then wandering around the market. Being the middle of the winter, there were fewer stalls at the market this week, but I still found some fabulous inspiration.

The highlight at the market this week was leafy greens, root vegetables and some fresh apples and citrus fruits. One of my purchases this week was a bunch of fresh beets, and I put together this roasted beet salad for an easy Sunday night dinner.

Roasted Beet Salad
1 bunch of fresh red beets
Large handful of spinach leaves
1 orange
1/4 fennel bulb
100g (3.5 oz) roasted hazelnuts
Fresh goat's cheese


Roast the beets in an oil sheet of aluminium foil at 350C for ~1 hour. Peel the skin from the beets by rubbing the skin (with disposable gloves on) after the beets have been roasted. Layer the spinach, then sliced beets, thinly sliced fennel bulb, and half of the orange, sliced. Top with roughly chopped hazelnuts and crumbled goats cheese.

For the dressing, combine 1 part fresh orange juice with 2 parts of good quality olive oil. Add 1 part balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon orange zest and 1 tablespoon of chopped capers. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk together and pour over the salad.

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