Beetroot, mozzarella & white anchovy salad

As a food editor, I am often asked where do you get your inspiration for recipes? The answer is easy - I'm inspired by what I see around me.

This salad is inspired after finding beautiful baby golden beetroot at the markets. I love the earthiness of beetroot, especially baby beetroots raw. They are best pared with a delicate balance of flavours. Beetroots love the tartness of lemon and the saltiness of white anchovies. I have tied all these flavours together with one of my favourites, creamy buffalo mozzarella.

Ingredients

1 bunch each baby golden and regular beetroot

¼ cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil

1 quarter preserved lemon, flesh discarded

1 cup mint leaves picked

250g buffalo mozzarella

10-12 white anchovies

Method

Scrub beetroots, removing any dirt and blemishes and trim off stalks leaving 2 cm. Using a peeler or mandolin thinly shave beetroots. Place red beetroot in a bowl of cold water and golden beetroot in a separate bowl of water. Leave to sit for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile finely chop preserved lemon and combine in a small bowl with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

To serve, drain beetroot and arrange on a platter. Tear over buffalo mozzarella and scatter with mint leaves and preserved lemon dressing. Lay anchovies over the top and serve.

Serves 4-6.

Gluten Free Banana and Nut Cake

I like a challenge, especially a recipe related one.

I have a friend who often sends me text messages with intriguing recipe questions, and I often find myself researching late into the night trying to answer them.

Some are simple to answer - can one make a meringue without sugar? The answer is no. While others leave me so interested enough to test it out myself.

Her latest question; can nuts be ground and used instead of flour? This is not a simple yes/no answer, however I wanted to personally test my theory and ended up with this moist, gluten free, nutty banana cake.

The mixture of cashews and almonds not only adds texture, but flavour to this banana cake. This cake is moist yet crumbly and best eaten within 3 days of baking.

Ingredients

220g ground almonds

150g raw cashews, ground in a food processor

150g unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup honey

3 ripe bananas, mashed

3 eggs, lightly beaten

½ cup Greek-style yoghurt

½ cup rice flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a 25cm round cake tin (I used a vintage octagon one) and set aside.

Place the ground almonds and cashews on a baking tray and roast for 5 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove and leave to cool.

Meanwhile, combine the butter and honey in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 6 minutes or until soft and creamy. Add the cooled nuts, rice flour, baking powder and bicarbonate to the butter mixture and beat until just combined.

Add the bananas, eggs and yoghurt together and beat until just combined and add to the cake mixture. Beat until just combined..

Pour into lined baking pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Serve warm with extra honey to drizzle.

Serves 8