Corner on the Square, Beauly

On a lazy Sunday morning (the rarest of things recently) one of my favourite things to do is to head over to Beauly and have breakfast or lunch in the lovely Corner on the Square.

A cafe and deli, Corner on the Square is bright and cheerful  and chocablock full of nice things to eat right there or take home. I love the Goats cheese on toast and the cooked breakfasts especially but the specials are always rather, umm, special too.

Shredded Beetroot and Carrot Salad

David and I disagree about this salad.  Both of us love the crunch and the sweetness of the vegetables and both of us think the colour is fantastic.  We do not, however, agree on the dressing.  He prefers a zingy gingery flavour; I like a kick of mustard.

See what you think.

Shredded Beetroot and Carrot Salad

(serves 4 as a side)

3 medium beetroot, peeled

2 medium carrots, peeled

• Simply use a mandoline to shred the vegetables finely.  (Unless you have incredible knife skills, a mandoline is what is required here.  Grating makes the whole dish a bit wet.)
• Toss with one of the following  dressings (you may not want to use all the dressing) and sprinkle with the matching herb.

Dressing 1 – Mix together the juice of one lime, a teaspoon of grated ginger and 25ml groundnut oil.  Top salad with coriander.

Dressing 2 – Mix together 1/2 tspn Dijon mustard, 1 tblspn white wine vinegar and 4 tblspn olive oil.  Top with parsley.

Apple, Date and Walnut Loaf

A lovely loaf cake that keeps fresh for days.  Nice sliced and spread with butter; even better toasted and topped with ricotta.

Apple, Date and Walnut Loaf (Adapted from Bill Granger’s Everyday)

50g rolled oats

300ml milk

1 tspn cinnamon

250g self raising flour

1tspn baking powder

100g dates, chopped

75g dried apple, chopped

50g walnuts, chopped

75g soft brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

2 tspn mixed seeds

• Preheat the oven to 180oC.
• Add the cinnamon to the milk and stir.  Soak the oats in the milk for 20 mins to soften.
• Sift the baking powder and flour into a bowl then add the dried fruit and nuts.  Stir to combine then add the sugar, egg and milk soaked oats.  Stir until combined.
• Pour mixture into a loaf tin lined with baking paper.  Sprinkle over the seeds the bake for 45.