Beetroot chickpea and mushroom salad bowl with truffle infused dressing

A “bowl” filled with sweet nutty succulent umami packed mouthfuls of flavour. Finish with a satisfying crunch when eating the bowl that the beetroot salad is served in.

I find beetroot such an interesting and versatile vegetable. Whether used in a burger, to make gnocchi, to help cure salmon, it always brings a unique character to a dish.

The “bowl” is formed from a large spring roll wrapper, baked until crispy. It provided a nice crunchy counterpoint to the more juicy and succulent beetroot and mushrooms.

The beetroot was fresh, not the canned variety. It was roasted for an hour or so in foil with a little olive oil and a pinch of salt. The depth of flavour and sweetness makes the effort more than worth it, for any beetroot salad.

The mushrooms, and the truffle oil and truffle slices (if you use them), add a wonderful earthy note to the sweetness of the beetroot and nutty chickpeas. While I used cremini mushrooms, any tasty mushrooms will work. Adding a few porcini or shiitake mushrooms would pack even more intensity into each mouthful.

Beetroot chickpea and mushroom salad bowls with truffle infused dressing

Servings: 5 people

Author: Steve Paris

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 can chickpeas 400g
• 4 cloves garlic peeled and finely diced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 medium beetroot
• 200 g cremini mushrooms
• 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
• zest of a lime
• juice of a lime
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp truffle infused oil
• 1 Tbsp finely diced truffle from truffle slices preserved in oil (optional)
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 5 large spring roll wrappers filo pastry would work too

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180 degC
• Combine the diced truffle (if using), zest, lime juice, extra virgin and truffle infused oil, and mustard in a shaker and shake well. Allow flavours to meld for an hour or so in the refridgerator.
• Wash the beetroot.
• Wrap the beetroot individually in foil with a drizzle of olive oil and a small pinch of salt.
• Bake the beetroot in the oven for 1 hour.
• Allow the beetroot to cool for 15 minutes, unwrap, top and bottom, and slide off the skins.
• Dice the beetroot into approx 1x1cm pieces.
• Drain the can of chickpeas and rinse. Allow to drain and dry.
• Bring a skillet or fry pan to a medium high heat. Add the 1 Tbsp of olive oil.
• Add the chickpeas and finely diced garlic and sauté until just starting to brown. Be careful not to burn the garlic as it will get bitter. Set aside.
• Dice and sauté the mushrooms until starting to brown.
• Toss together the chickpeas, beetroot, mushrooms, parsley, and dressing.
• Smear some olive oil into some oven-proof bowls and push the spring roll wrappers down into them, so they themselves take on the shape of a bowl.
• Bake the spring roll wrappers in a 180 degC oven for about 10 minutes, or until the “bowls” are crisp.