Whole roasted beets with grilled asparagus, goats cheese and savoury granola

Another spring favourite! Beautiful beets and asparagus paired with goats feta cheese and a savoury granola (yes, it works) all topped with a mint and preserved lemon vinaigrette. Perfect for any buffet this summer or as a side. 

For two

350g small beets 

1 bunch of asparagus 

50g of your favourite goats cheese 

Granola 

100g nuts and seeds, I used hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds 

1 tsp Aleppo pepper 

1 tsp while cumin

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp dried oregano 

Pinch of salt and pepper 

20g honey

1 tbsp olive oil

Vinaigrette 

1 tbsp finely chopped preserved lemon rind 

2 heaped tbsp finely chopped fresh mint 

1/2 garlic clove, grated 

3 tbsp olive oil 

3 tbsp red wine vinegar 

Salt and pepper 

Turn the oven on to 200 degrees wrap each beetroot individually in foil and roasts the beets for 40-50 minutes depending on the size. 

Meanwhile toast the nuts and seeds for 10 minutes in the same oven, adding the whole spices after 5 minutes. Mix honey and olive oil in a little bowl and transfer the nuts and seeds to the bowl once out of the oven and season with salt and black pepper, it needs to be quite salty. Return to oven for 5 minutes and then spread out on a plate to cool completely. 

Mix together all ingredients for the vinaigrette and keep to one side until serving. 

Take the beets out of the oven once cooked through and peel off the skin, I like to do this with cloves when the beets are warm as the skin comes off very easy. 

Grill the asparagus for a few minutes on each side taking care to keep some bite to it. 

To serve, quarter the beets, half the asparagus and arrange on a plate, drizzle the vinaigrette, break chunk of the cheese and roughly chop some of the granola and sprinkle on top and finish with a sprinkling of flaky sea salt.