This pretty salad is a fantastic way of using winter Beetroot and winter oranges, both in season here in New Zealand.

Ingredients.

2 medium beetroot.

1 orange.

1/2 cup hazelnuts.

2 tablespoons of olive oil.

1 large bunch of mint. I am using apple mint.

2 tablespoons of cider vinegar or lemon juice.

If you prefer (as I do) you can use activated hazelnuts for your salad. Soak some nuts overnight in water then roast in the oven at 150c for about 30-40 minutes or until completely dry and toasted through. Or just roast them without soaking. When they are roasted rub as much of the skins off as you can then they can be stored for a few weeks in a sealed jar.

Scrub, peel and grate the beetroot. My Beetroot were a bit big so I am only using one and a half for this salad.

Grate the zest from the orange then cut the skin off with a sharp knife. Next slice the orange into segments and cut the segments into two or three..

Chop the mint, measure out the 1/2 cup of toasted hazelnuts, these then need to be smashed up a bit. I like to pop them into a bag and thump them with a rolling pin, you could do it with a food processor, you want a variety of size bits some big some fine.Put everything except the hazelnuts in a bowl and dowse with the olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice. Here I have used Beetroot apple cider vinegar which was left over from some pickled Beetroot I made. Lastly sprinkle on the hazelnuts and serve.Here we are having it with avocado and persimmon salsa, green salad and poached chicken. This quantity serves four, 11gms carbs per serve.