Beetroot Salad Recipe
Beetroot and Carrot Salad - the Full Monty!
This is a salad I usually make when I have a wee bit more time. It’s about 80% from the garden; the $$ I save by not having to buy my veg and herbs, means I can splash out on some other nutritious ingredients that turn this into a super healthy shot for your body! Phyto-nutrients galore from all the colours, protein from the seeds and cheese, and minerals aplenty from the herbs and roots.
The last stragglers, or, ugly beets - are transformed into a jewel-like salad with a bit of a scrub, a bit of a peel to remove the dry corky skin and grating. Now there is no way you would ever buy beets that look like that from a shop, right? Can you imagine how much waste happens as ugly ducklings like this get dumped along the way from garden to supermarket? In your own garden there is no-one to impress other than your taste buds! And so much less waste. And the waste...well no real waste... back to the compost or the chooks it goes.
Anyway, back to the recipe
Measurements are not important here, scale up for more people, but seriously, but this will be enough for at least 6 people!...
• a couple of carrots, and two or three small beets or a large one, raw, grated (I like julienne type graters as they give a crunchy salad rather than a mushy one)
• a good crisp apple, grated is an excellent addition, as is celery
• a few sprigs of mint, parsley, and any other herbs that you have, roughly chopped – I think Vietnamese mint could be really good
• handful of raisins
• handful of sunflower seeds and/or any other nuts or seeds you have - they can be dry toasted in a cast iron pan if desired but I’ve used mine raw
• squeeze of lemon juice to stop carrots browning
• optional: NZ goat feta or if you prefer, cow feta, roughly crumbled up (Bulgarian goat feta is cheaper but... it came an awfully long way and let’s support NZ farmers)
• just put these all in a bowl on top of each other, as you prep them, then mix gently with your hands
• Dress with salad dressing just before serving
My favourite vinaigrette dressing recipe is:
1/2 olive oil, 1/4 balsamic vinegar, 1/4 tamari sauce. The saltiness of the tamari balances out the acidity of the balsamic. If you like garlic, slice a few cloves in half and leave to steep in the vinaigrette and the garlic will infuse through.
Play around with the balance between tamari and vinegar to suit your taste. If no tamari, use good quality GMO-free soy sauce.
BTW this salad is what they call a good “opener”!! Enjoy!
