RECIPE | roasted beet salad with pear, blood orange, walnuts, cocoa-coated goat cheese & cocoa-balsamic vinaigrette

This year I have been tasked with developing the Valentine's Day menu for my parents. I spent the week testing recipes for a menu that will feature Theobroma cacao in each course. This salad came about after reading through Niki Segnit's wonderful book, The Flavour Thesaurus. As its name suggests, this book lists flavour combinations that work well together and is an invaluable resource for inventive cooks looking for new ideas rather than step-by-step recipes.

Though these ingredients may appear disparate, they each complement each other (yes, even the goat cheese and cocoa powder, as long as you use a mild goat cheese). To simplify the recipe, you can omit the herbed cocoa coating on the goat cheese, and dress the salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar instead of the cocoa-balsamic vinaigrette. All components can be prepared up to two days in advance and combined just before serving, which also makes this an ideal dish to bring to the office for lunch.

ROASTED BEET SALAD WITH PEAR, BLOOD ORANGE, WALNUTS & GOAT CHEESE

TASTING NOTES:
Pomegranate seeds would make a nice addition to the salad /// Hazelnuts can be substituted for the walnuts /// Be sure to finely grind the spices for the goat cheese coating to avoid a grainy texture /// Using precooked beets reduces the "time to table" to 30 minutes /// Recipe can be doubled, tripled, etc.

INGREDIENTS:
1 bunch beets (about 4-5 small or 3 large beets)
1 blood orange or tangerine
1 pear, thinly sliced
1/3 cup walnuts
200 grams (7 ounces) wild arugula or mixed greens
100 grams (3.5 ounces) herbed cocoa-coated goat cheese (recipe follows)
cocoa-balsamic vinaigrette (recipe follows)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 205˚C (400˚F). Scrub the outside of the beets and remove the stems with leaves. Place the beets in a small roasting dish with a thin layer of water, sprinkle with salt, and cover the dish tightly with foil. Spread the walnuts on a small baking tray lined with foil. Transfer the walnuts and beets to the oven. Toast the walnuts for 7-10 minutes, until lightly browned and nutty-smelling. Remove from the oven, leaving the beets to continue roasting, and set aside to cool. Roast the beets for 45-75 minutes total (depending on size of beets), until you can pierce a beet with a knife all the way through. Set the beets aside to cool. Turn the broiler on or heat a grill. Broil or grill the pear slices for 5-6 minutes on each side, until lightly charred, then set aside to cool.

Peel the beets, slice in half vertically, then cut each half into quarters. Toss the beets with a spoonful of the dressing and a sprinkle of salt in a large bowl. Cut the top and bottom off of the blood orange, then carefully cut off the skin and white pith. Slice the orange horizontally and remove any seeds. (If using tangerine, peel and divide into segments.) Add the lettuce, citrus, and half of the walnuts to the beets, and add dressing to taste. Top the salad with slices of goat cheese, the remaining walnuts, a drizzle of dressing, and a few grinds of black pepper.

Serves: 2 as an appetizer or 1 as a main course
Time to table: 90 minutes (mainly waiting for the beets to cook)
Equipment: a small roasting dish, a small baking tray, a large bowl

HERBED COCOA-COATED GOAT CHEESE

INGREDIENTS:
1 teaspoon pink peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 unwaxed tangerine or blood orange, zested
100 grams (3.5 ounces) mild soft goat cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Combine the pink peppercorns, fennel seed, thyme, cocoa powder, black pepper and orange zest in a spice grinder and finely grind. (Alternatively, grind with a mortar and pestle.) Spread the powder on a plate and roll the goat cheese in the powder to coat fully.

Serves: 2
Time to table: 10 minutes
Equipment: spice grinder or mortar and pestle, Microplane or fine grater

COCOA-BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon cocoa powder
small pinch cinnamon
1 teaspoon honey

DIRECTIONS:
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk with a fork to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves: 2
Time to table: 5 minutes
Equipment: small bowl

RECIPE | bittersweet chocolate hearts & hot dates

Valentine's Day is overrated, except as an excuse to eat chocolate (as if one needs an excuse). For Tastespotting's "Hot Date" celebration, I took a somewhat literal interpretation and made chocolate-coated dates topped with pink peppercorns. These four-bite hearts are a relatively healthy chocolate treat, especially when made with dark chocolate. Soaking the dates in hot water and double-dipping them in chocolate results in a smooth consistency that mimics that of a chocolate truffle. Pink peppercorns provide pleasant crunch (together with the interior toasted nuts), though the same beautiful colour contrast can be achieved with crumbled freeze-dried raspberries for a sweeter note.

Do not be put off by the 90 minute timeframe to make these - most of that time is dedicated to soaking the dates and chilling the chocolate. Just enough time to watch a bittersweet Audrey Hepburn film while you wait.



DOUBLE-DIPPED BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE DATES WITH PINK PEPPERCORNS AND TOASTED NUTS

TASTING NOTES:
White chocolate is a pretty (non-vegan) substitute for dark chocolate (I used Green & Black's) /// Crushed freeze-dried raspberries make a sweet alternative topping that is equally pleasing to the eye /// A few tablespoons of orange liqueur, brandy, or orange blossom water can be added to the soaking water /// I like to toast extra nuts and toss them in the bowl of chocolate after all the dates are coated to make sure no chocolate is wasted. Sprinkled with pink peppercorns, the chocolate-coated nuts also become a tasty snack /// Dates can be kept, covered in plastic wrap and refrigerated, for up to a week

INGREDIENTS:
8 good-quality medjool dates
16 pecan or walnut halves
200 grams (7 ounces) dark chocolate
2 teaspoons pink peppercorns, crushed

DIRECTIONS:
Soak the dates in hot water (and optional flavouring) for 20 minutes, until soft. Toast the pecans (or walnuts) in a 375˚F (190˚C) oven for 7-10 minutes, until they are slightly browned. Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over simmering water. Pat each date dry with a paper towel, then slice lengthwise from the wider part two-thirds down to the bottom. (Do not slice all the way down since you want to keep the point at the bottom of the "heart.") Pull open slightly to form a heart shape and remove the pit. Stuff each cavity with a nut half and continue with remaining dates. (The nuts should be securely pressed into the date so as not to dislodge in the dipping process.) Dip each date in the melted chocolate, carefully turning it to fully coat in chocolate. Transfer to a plate lined with parchment paper, and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes, until chocolate is set. Remove dates from the refrigerator and repeat the process of dipping them in chocolate, using a rubber spatula to scrape chocolate off the sides of the bowl. (You may need to remelt the chocolate if it has cooled too much.) Transfer dates to the parchment paper-lined plate and sprinkle with crushed pink peppercorns immediately after dipping, while chocolate is still wet. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes until chocolate is set. Remove from refrigerator at least 10 minutes before serving to allow the chocolate to soften.

Serves: 8
Time to table: 90 minutes
Equipment: double boiler or bowl that fits over a pot, rubber spatula

RECIPE | chocolate banana muffins for a sunday morning

After living in a flat with no oven for eight months, I have taken every opportunity to bake/roast/broil my meal in my new oven. Eggplant parmesan, baked pasta, broiled chicken, and roasted autumn vegetables have all recently made an appearance on the dinner table, and I do not anticipate a slowdown in this hearty comfort food with winter approaching. This morning, I made my go-to recipe for banana muffins for the first time this year, and greedily devoured two of them while still warm from the oven. They were unintentionally healthier than usual because I only had whole-grain flour on hand, but it just added an extra bit of crunch and nuttiness to the muffins.


CHOCOLATE BANANA MUFFINS
From my cookbook

INGREDIENTS:
3 overripe bananas, mashed
2/3 cup applesauce (which I only found at Whole Foods under the label "Apple Purée")
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour (some/all can be subbed with whole-grain flour)
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
a little more than 1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup each of: chopped dark chocolate, walnut pieces, dried cranberries
flavourings of your choosing (orange zest, cinnamon, and cardamom are all excellent)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 425°F (about 220°C). Combine the bananas, applesauce, egg, and vanilla extract in a standing mixer with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and flavourings together in a separate bowl. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just blended.  Fold in chopped chocolate, nuts, and dried fruit. Spoon the batter into a greased muffin tin. Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for about 11 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out with moist crumbs.

Serves: 12
Time to Table: 35 minutes