The beautiful thing about visiting the people that I feature is that I have the opportunity to discover the versatility of each individual’s life, through their stories and dishes. Now as I claim to be a hardcore foodie that knows how to prep a fabulous dish, there were tiny alarm bells of confusion when I heard that this (utterly lovely) lady wanted to present a simple salad. Following the Dishtales mantra, however, I was more than eager to find out what Irene’s story is and how a salad ties into it. From Hong Kong to New York City, from spending years in Los Angeles to countless Fashion Weeks, this young woman has pretty much seen it all. Whether posing for a cover or preparing herself for the runway, Irene had the extraordinary chance to explore our fantastic planet ever since she was a teenager. Despite the fact that she has such a turbulent lifestyle, it was actually quite relaxing to spend an afternoon in her kitchen! Behind the scenes Irene prepared all the ingredients for her colorful salad from scratch, with passionate dedication, while telling me all about her modelling lifestyle and how healthy food is an important part of that. Cracking walnuts, cooking and peeling beetroot, and whisking some amazing products into a delicious dressing.
“When your job depends so much on your body (posture), state of mind and a healthy look, you need to have a healthy, nutritionally balanced diet that keeps you fit (in shape), happy, and presentable.” she says. In her own kitchen, Irene loves to spend time on creating a beautiful dish and try-out (yay for experimental cooking!) various combinations of products. Whether steam-cooking fresh vegetables, spicing some protein or working on that perfect salad, she loves spending time on her meals. The fact that she didn’t use jarred beetroot (thank goodness) and she actually picked up a bucket of fresh walnuts to crack from her grandma’s walnut tree…well…that’s just foodtabulous!
BUY:
- Serving 1
- A hand of Arugula (also known as rucola or rocket)
- 1 beetroot
- 100 gr goat cheese
- 100 gr walnuts
- 2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
- 3 tbsp Olive oil
- 5 tbsp Honey
- 1/4 tbsp Ground cayenne pepper
- Salt & pepper
DO:
- Cook, peel and slice your beetroot.
- Crush walnuts, crumble goat cheese, scoop up some of both and gently mix the two ingredients into little balls.
- For the dressing whisk the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey and ground cayenne pepper in a bowl and (if preferred) make it thinner with a dash of hot water.
- Present and serve the salad as preferred.
Cool story! I love beetroot! x