Lunch for the locavore

Is there no better feeling than eating produce picked from your own backyard just hours earlier?

As the weather heats up, we’re super excited to be harvesting our own home grown produce including kale, tomatoes and of course, berries!

This recipe from Restaurant 62 is great for if you’re expecting friends for a summer bbq. The poached beets and sherry vinaigrette add a unique flavour we just can’t go past.

Beet, Kale and Feta Salad with Quinoa

1 cup cooked quinoa
3 cups chopped, fresh, washed kale
3 beets, quartered
1 cup crumbled Vitala Feta
Toasted pumpkin seeds
1⁄2 cup shaved fennel
1⁄4 cup sliced red onion
4 tbsp sherry vinaigrette

Toss all ingredients except beets together. Warm beets in oven with olive oil. Top salad with beets and pumpkin seeds.

Sherry Vinaigrette

Yield: 250 ml

1⁄4 cup sherry vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp GSP
1⁄2 tsp chilies
1 tsp chopped thyme
s/p to taste
3⁄4 cup olive oil

Whisk all ingredients except olive oil. Add oil without whisking for broken vinaigrette.

Poached Beets

1 or 2 small bunches of baby beets
Cold water, enough to cover the beets
1 small cinnamon stick
1tsp fennel seeds
1tsp coriander seeds
1tsp star anise, whole
1tsp cardamom pods
1⁄4 vanilla bean
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt

Remove the leaves (if necessary) and trim the beets.

Place all the ingredients in a suitable sized pot and cover with cold water. Allow to come to a gentle simmer over medium heat and cook the beets until they are done (use a small paring knife to determine if the beets are cooked enough, they should slide easily off the blade once pierced through).

Remove the beets and allow to cool. Peel the beets using your hands to rub off the skins, or use a peeler.