Olia Hercules Beetroot & Chicory Salad

We’ve teamed up with the talented Olia Hercules to create a refreshing and zingy salad, perfect for light lunch or as a side dish to a hearty meal like spatchcock chicken.

The salad contains all the flavours that Olia enjoys! Beetroot is paired with vibrant chicory wedges and bursts of orange segments to bring a gentle sweetness to the dish. The salad is inspired by an amazing dish from Georgia called charkhali. The original dish is fantastic, and involves boiled beetroot tossed in a spicy sour plum puree, flavoured with pennyroyal mint, garlic, dill and Georgian spices. Olia goes a step further by charring the beetroot and cooking the plum sauce over fire, adding an amazing smokiness to the whole dish!

A quick pickling recipe

The pickling section of this recipe is very important to bring life to the dish. It is also very easy and quick to do in the comfort of your own home! With a combination of vinegar, honey and Maldon Salt, you need to mix the beetroot slices into the season vinegar for 15 minutes. However, if you would a stronger pickling flavour, you can leave the beetroot slice in the mixture overnight to really elevate the flavours!

Here is how to make the beetroot and chicory salad…

1. To boil the beetroot, simply put it whole, skin on into a pan of cold water.
2. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 40 minutes or until a knife can pierce them quite easily.
3. Cut the chicory into thin wedges.
4. Segment the oranges (do watch a quick video online if you don’t know how to do it).
5. Add the vinegar, honey and the 1 tsp Maldon Salt into a large bowl, mixing well. The vinegar will help dissolve the honey and sea salt flakes. Set aside.
6. In the meantime, the beetroot should have cooled off by now. Begin rubbing off its skin and cut into thin slices.
7. Drop the beetroot slices into the seasoned vinegar. You can leave it there to pickle for as quick as 15 minutes or do this in advance and leave them macerate in vinegar overnight for a stronger flavour.
8. In a large bowl, add the now pickled beetroot slices. Next, begin adding the chicory wedges, orange segments, olives and onion. Give it all a good mix until everything is blended together.
9. Arrange on a serving plate, drizzle over oil and add the dill.
10. Serve immediately. If there is any leftover, you can store in the fridge for up to 1 week.

What dressing could you use for this salad?

A dressing that would pair perfect with this salad would be a vinaigrette using fruit vinegar and honey. It is very easy to make and requires very few ingredients

1. In a bowl, add the ingredients and mix well, ensuring everything is coated evenly.
2. Add a few dill fonds into the mixture.
3. Once finished, let it chill in the fridge for a few minutes to let the flavours infuse together.
4. Once your salad is assembled, drizzle the dressing over the dish generously.