Beetroot, Labneh & Dukkah Salad

I was raised on salads of bland lettuce, watery tomatoes, cucumber, jarred beetroot and celery. Thankfully, Heinz salad cream was on hand to add some flavour. Those days are long gone and sexy, funky salads with bags of attitude, texture and layers of flavour are here. Yesterday's offering was courtesy of my preferred airport stop off, Leon. Leon Happy Salads There are a few processes involved, however once everything comes together you are left with a hearty, yet refreshing salad. For two people....

Ingredients

400g Roasted Beetroot, cut into chunks. 200g Cooked Puy Lentils. Half finely sliced marinated Red Onion (2 tsp soft brown sugar, tbsp. red wine vinegar, pinch of salt). 2 tbsp. Olive Oil. Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar. Bunch of Watercress. 2 finely sliced Radishes. 50g Labneh or Thick Greek Yoghurt. Tbsp chopped fresh Mint. 2 tbsp Dukkah. Seasoning.

Method

Mix the beetroot with the red onions and lentils. Then stir through the olive oil, balsamic and seasoning. Arrange the watercress on a large plate and add the beetroot mix. Sprinkle the radishes on top, then drizzle the labneh. Dress with the mint and dukkah.

The sweetness of the beetroot works well with the peppery leaves, creamy labney and the fragrant dukkah. (Dukkah is basically a blitzed mix of seeds and nuts) One final note. You don't need two slices of Mother's Pride to mop up the residual dressing.