A beet-iful salad, pretty on the eyes, summery and incredibly delicious. Roasting your beetroots turns them silky and sweet, but the addition of smoke adds a delicious layer of flavour. Prepare all your elements ahead of time and assemble last minute for a stunning side dish to any feast.
Instructions
- If you are using a gas or charcoal barbecue, soak your desired wood chips in water for at least 30 minutes (if you are using a Genesis 2 smoker box there is no need to soak the chips). We recommend hickory, cherry or pecan wood chips for this recipe.
- Add the wood chips to the smoker box of your gas barbecue, following the manufacturer’s instructions. Prepare the barbecue for indirect cooking over medium heat (190°C to 230°C).
- Prepare your barbecue for indirect cooking over medium heat (190°C- 230°C). If you are using a Weber SmokeFire™, set the temperature to 190°C and preheat.
- Add the soaked wood chips to the Weber Q smoker boxes, following the manufacturer’s instructions. Set up your barbecue with a convection tray, roasting trivet and the smoker boxes. Preheat the barbecue for indirect cooking over medium heat (roast setting- 190°C-230°C).
- Prepare the charcoal barbecue for indirect cooking over medium heat (190°C-230°C).
- Once the barbecue has preheated and smoke is visible, roast the beetroots over indirect medium heat, with the lid closed, for 30 minutes to absorb the smoke.
- Once the barbecue has preheated and smoke is visible, place your beetroots onto the trivet. Roast the beetroots over indirect medium heat, with the lid closed, for 30 minutes to absorb the smoke.
- Brush the cooking grills clean. Add the soaked wood chips to the charcoal. Place the beetroots in the centre of the cooking grill, in-between the two charcoal baskets. Roast the beetroots over indirect medium heat, with the lid closed, for 30 minutes to absorb the smoke.
- Once your barbecue has preheated to the set temperature (SmokeFire: 190°C), brush the cooking grills clean with a wire brush. Roast the beetroots over indirect medium heat, with the lid closed, for 30 minutes to absorb the smoke.
- After the first 30 minutes. Wrap the beetroots in foil and continue to roast/steam for a further 40 to 60 minutes, or until they are tender when pierced with a sharp knife.
- Remove the beetroots from the barbecue and leave to cool down. While the beetroots are cooling, make the crème fraiche dressing. Combine all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate until required. Once the beetroots are cool enough to handle, peel the skin off the beetroots (it’s a good idea to use disposable gloves) and then roughly chop. Refrigerate the beetroots until required.
- When you are ready to serve the salad, assemble the dish by adding half the dressing to the chopped beetroots. Gently toss, but don’t completely stir, it is nice to have the colour variants. Pour onto a serving platter, top with dollops of extra dressing, sprinkle the red onion over. Zest the lemon over the beetroots and finally garnish with small sprigs of dill.
Crème Fraiche Dressing
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