Beetroot and goat's cheese salad with pistachio

Serves: 4
Ingredients
. 200 gm red beetroot, cleaned
. 200 gm candied white beetroot, cleaned
. 10 gm salt to taste
. 10 gm sugar to taste
. 50 gm pearl onions
. 10 gm pistachio
. 150 gm goat's cheese
. 1 egg white
. 1 blood orange, segmented
. Baby basil, to garnish
. Sunflower oil for frying
For the marinade:
. 30 ml cider vinegar
. 120 ml orange juice
. 120 ml olive oil
For the croutons:
. 2 slices thick brown bread, cubed
. Butter and olive oil to toast
. Red chilli flakes, as needed
. Sugar and salt to taste
Method
Cook the beetroots whole (covered with foil) on a steamer tray with water underneath at 190ºC for 1 hour until soft.
Remove from the oven, leave to cool for 10 minutes then peel and cut into quarters. Sprinkle sugar and salt liberally to taste. Set aside.
Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl, add the beetroot to the bowl; cover the beetroot entirely.
Peel the onions, season with salt and prepare a frying pan with some butter. Cook the onions whole over a low heat, stirring from time to time (around 15 minutes, till translucent). When the onions are soft, remove from the pan, cut into quarters and separate the layers so that they are in small pieces. Add to the beetroot marinade bowl.
Cover the bowl with cling film, then leave overnight in the fridge.
Roast the pistachios in a saucepan over a medium heat until they begin to colour. Remove from the heat, chop roughly and set aside.
Roll the goat's cheese into medium-sized balls and dip in the egg white. Take half of the chopped pistachios and spread onto a baking tray. Roll the goat's cheese balls in the chopped pistachios until well covered.
Fry in a frying pan with sunf- lower oil over a high heat for 2-3 minutes till golden brown.
Remove the beetroot marinade bowl from the fridge. Strain the liquid and divide into two bowls, one with pearl onions and one with beetroot. Arrange the beetroot into four shallow bowls.
Sprinkle with the remaining pistachios then add 4 small pieces of pearl onion per bowl. Segment the orange and sprinkle the segments between the bowls.
Toast the cubed brown bread in a saucepan with some butter and olive oil until lightly coloured. Add a bit of sugar, salt and chilli flakes, then toast for a further 2-3 minutes until golden brown and crunchy.
Divide the goat's cheese balls and croutons between each bowl and add some baby basil to garnish. Drizzle with olive oil and serve immediately.