Warm Goat’s Cheese, Beetroot, Walnut & California Prune Salad

Prune It is a healthy eating campaign designed to educate consumers to understand the role that California Prunes can play in helping to help reduce the fat and sugar content across a wide range of recipes.  When blended into a puree, prunes offer a useful fat replacer in cooking by adding fat-like (but fat-free) characteristics that also work to enhance the flavours in both sweet and savoury dishes.  In addition, the naturally occurring sugars present in California Prunes can also be used to provide a natural replacement for some of the processed sugars that traditionally feature in sweet recipes.  And because of their high fibre content and ability to add bulk to dishes, California Prunes also have a role to play in reducing portion size without compromising on filling power or taste.

Makes: 4Prep Time: 15 minutes
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INGREDIENTS

  •  
  • For the salad:
  • 60g whole walnuts, roughly chopped
  • 170 goats cheese, cut into 4 rounds
  • 8 California Prunes, finely sliced
  •  
  • 1 pack of 4 vacuum-packed cooked beets, drained and thickly sliced
  • 8 handfuls of mixed leaves (suggest watercress, baby-spinach and lamb lettuce)
  • For the dressing:
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup California Prune juice
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tsp orange juice
  • 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
  2. Place all the dressing ingredients into a jar, close tightly and shake well. Set to one side.
  3. Place the chopped walnuts on a baking tray and roast for 5 minutes, shaking once. When browned all over, remove and set to one side. Be careful not to burn the walnuts.
  4. Place the cheese rounds on a baking tray lined with parchment or foil. Place in the hot oven and leave until they have started to melt, but are still holding their shape – about 5 minutes. Don’t try to turn them.
  5. Place the mixed leaves in a wide, shallow salad dish, arrange the sliced beets on top, and scatter over the sliced California Prunes and walnuts.
  6. Remove the hot cheese sliced from the oven, and using a lifter, carefully place them on top of the salad.
  7. Drizzle with the dressing and serve immediately.

This salad is delicious with a side of barley couscous or quinoa.