Roasted beetroot fattoush, with feta and mint

Whilst not quite salad season anymore, especially this last week, where temperatures have plummeted, snow has been falling on the alps, wild winds have lashed our state, causing several deaths, power outages, and buckets of red dust dumped all over us from the Mallee, I can't go a whole week without at least one form of salad.

This dish is from Bill Granger, a noted Australian chef famous for his scrambled eggs, served at his Sydney restaurant, simply called Bills.

Fattoush is a Middle Eastern dish, using up stale pita bread, and incorporating a mixture of vegetables, usually with the addition of sumac for its bitterness.

This is a warm salad, so I've compromised my salad cravings with warm food comfort.



Ingredients
1 tsp sumac
1/2 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and ground
1/2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
2 medium sized beetroot, raw
1 large or 2 small pita rounds, torn into thumb size pieces
2 tblsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
1 Lebanese cucumber, chopped
80 gms of feta cubed (I used my favourite, Persian Feta)
1/2 bunch picked mint leaves
1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley leaves
60 g baby rocket or baby spinach leaves
2 tblsp lemon juice

Method
Preheat oven to 160 c. Combine sumac, coriander and cumin seeds.
Place beetroot on a lined baking tray and roast for 50 minutes, or until tender.
Spread bread on a separate lined baking tray, then toss with extra oil and spice mixture, reserving 1/2 tsp. Bake the bread for the final 5 minutes of roasting the beetroot, until crisp.
Cool beetroot slightly, then peel and roughly chop. Place in a bowl with the bread, feta, mint, parsley and rocket. Add the lemon juice and olive oil, season with salt and pepper.
Toss gently to combine, then sprinkle with the remaining sumac and spice mixture and serve.

Kalyn's Weekend Herb Blogging is hosted by Kalyn herself this week, and I'm sure there will be a swag of entries from all over the world contributing to this marvelous event.