Recipes for low fat meals

Roast Beet Salad with Candied Pumpkin Seeds. A mix of warm, roasted beetroot, bitter salad leaves, crunchy sweet and salty pumpkin seeds and a sharp, lemony dressing - this salad is a great way to bring a little colour into winter, healthy diet eating. If you are able to buy beetroot with the leaves still attached, keep them and saute them with a little olive oil and garlic for a nice alternative to cooked spinach or chard for low carb meals. Serves 4

Ingredients

Ingredients needed for this dieting menu -2 small bunches of baby beetroot, ideally a mix of red and golden varieties
-a handful of dandelion or rocket leaves
-fleur de sel or other flaky sea salt for garnishing Candied pumpkin seeds -a large handful raw, hulled (green) pumpkin seeds
-2 tbsp caster sugar
-1 tsp sea salt Dijon dressing -one egg yolk
-1 tsp dijon mustard
-6 tbsp olive oil
-a pinch of salt
-2 tbsp of lemon juice or more

Instructions

Preparing the beets -Preheat the oven to 200 C. Wash and dry the beets, leaving them unpeeled. -Wrap each beet in foil and place in the oven to roast for about 1 hour or until tender when pierced with a skewer. -Allow the beets to cool for about 20 minutes before handling. When cool enough to handle, unwrap the beetroot and peel off the skins. -Slice the beetroot into thick slices or quarter any very small ones. Set aside. Candled pumpkin seeds -To make the candied pumpkin seeds, place the pumpkin seeds in a dry frying pan over medium heat. -Toast the pumpkin seeds for 5-8 minutes, shaking the pan frequently until the seeds have all 'popped' and are puffed up and smell nutty. -Sprinkle over the sugar and salt and continue to toast, stirring constantly until all the sugar has melted and the seeds have a light coating of sugar. -Tip the seeds out of the pan and spread on a sheet of parchment or foil to cool. -Make the dressing by whisking together the egg yolk, mustard, oil and salt until the dressing is thickened and creamy in texture. -Add lemon juice to taste or until the desired consistency is reached - the dressing should be just pourable rather than too runny. The salad -To make the salad, scatter the rocket or dandelion on a serving plate and top with the slices of roasted beets. -Sprinkle with a good pinch of the salt flakes and drizzle with the dressing. -Break up the pumpkin seeds with your fingers and scatter over the salad. Serve.