Monday, February 9, 2009

Shaved beet and arugula salad

I really like beets, but I don't always have the time and energy to make them. They're red, they're messy, and they take a long time to cook. Fortunately, I discovered that gold beets and chiogga beets don't bleed red all over your kitchen and they're quite pretty on your plate.

For this salad, I combined shaved gold beets with baby arugula. You definitely want to use a mandoline to shave the beets as thinly as possible. Since they're raw, they can be a little tough if the pieces are too thick. I made a simple meyer lemon vinaigrette for the salad: meyer lemon juice, honey, olive oil, shallot, salt and pepper. I tossed the beets and greens in the dressing and topped the salad with shavings of ricotta salata and chopped marcona almonds.
Here are a few of my tips for making delicious salads.

-Add a few teaspoons of finely minced shallot to your vinaigrette. Trust me, you'll be glad you did. If you're worried that the flavor of the shallot might be too sharp, let the minced shallot sit in your vinegar or lemon juice for a few minutes.

-Season your vinaigrette very generously with salt and pepper; it may seem like overkill, but you've got a lot of leaves to season with a small amount of dressing. Alternatively, season your greens with salt and pepper before you add the vinaigrette.

-Add your heavier ingredients like nuts to the top of the salad at the end. If you add them at the beginning, they'll just fall to the bottom of the bowl.

-Try mixing some fresh herbs into your salad greens - parsley is always a safe bet, I also like to add tarragon or dill.

-To reduce the amount of oil needed in your dressing, try adding a touch of honey. The sweetness balances the acidity.


48 comments:

Anonymous said...

I always make red beets and my daughter and husband are not huge fans, perhaps they will like gold beets better. The salad looks delicious!

Dewi said...

I love beet, red, or yellow... they are my favorite.
Cheers,
Elra

Selba said...

All this time, I thought that beet is red... never knew there's yellow one.

Pearl said...

golden beets? how cool!

Passionate Eater said...

I love red beets, but I am intrigued by these gold and chiogga beets. I think I need to move beyond the canned kind in my cooking adventures. Thanks for the great recipe, it is perfect for my first foray into multicolored beets!

Annie said...

Pretty salad!
And great tips.

veggie belly said...

I like beets too, but never tried the golden beets or had them raw. This looks so fresh and healthy!

Varsha Vipins said...

They are so new to me Sara..but I bet they tasted awesome..:)
Thanks for the visit n comment Sara..hope to see u around more often..:)

Lyndas recipe box said...

What a beautiful salad! I haven't tried golden beets, I'm not even sure I can get them here. I'll have to check it out.

Anonymous said...

Wow, I've never though of eating beets raw. I bet it ads an interesting textural element though. I love the golden beets too because I find they're less better than the red ones can be.

Pam said...

I wish I liked beets but I just don't. I must say though - this salad looks really beautiful.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

This salad looks good! Very healthy and flavorful!

Cheers,

Rosa

Anonymous said...

I peeled a bunch of red beets last night - my hands are still pink! Meyer lemon dressing with ricotta salata sounds lovely.

Karin W. said...

I like beets too...very versatile but messy. My mother used to boil fresh new red beets and then she pickled them. I could easily eat half a jar of these beets.
Borstj (a classic Russian soup) is a fine way to make use of red beets.

Culinary Wannabe said...

I always avoid beets simply because of the mess factor. I'm going to be on the lookout for these golden beets!

Unknown said...

love beets, but lately i've been picking up the vacuum packed roasted beets at trader joes...

teresa said...

I LOVE beet salads! I have never made one though, I'm going to have to try this!

Jescel said...

i got to admit, never had beets before, let alone the golden ones. But I think it's time to try one, huh?

Vanessa said...

That looks delicous, Sara! I've never seen a golden beet before, stil less tried one... can't wait to find one because I love the red variety! Thanks for the great idea!

Ana Powell said...

I Sarah
I have never seen gold beets here in the UK.
Loved your healthy salad x

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

I haven't heard of gold beets, I'm not a fan of beets, I may have to try these they sound fantastic.

Colleen said...

Great tips about the salads. I just made a vinaigrette with salads this weekend (not posted yet) and it's one of my faves!

Reeni said...

Fresh beets aren't widely available here and it makes me sad. This looks so delicious, the vinaigrette is great!

The Blonde Duck said...

Every time I see your creations I feel like a redneck.

I moved! Come see me at www.aduckinherpond.com.

Katrina said...

I really like beets, but avoid them for the whole bleeding red issue. Never really crossed my mind to use the yellow ones. Great looking salad!

Brindi said...

Thanks for stopping by today. Came over to check out your site and saw your picture with Michael Chiarello. That's enough for me to keep visiting often!

Usha said...

I have never used gold beets, sounds interesting...the salad looks so colorful and inviting :-)

Live.Love.Eat said...

This really looks delicious and refreshing!

teresa said...

PS I have something for you on my blog!

Jessica@Foodmayhem said...

I love beets, all of them! They're all so pretty. Beets and goat cheese are a match made in heaven!

Karen said...

Sounds like a delicious salad. I don't cook beets very often for the very reasons you mentioned :)

NKP said...

Mmm, love beets! I can usually only find red here, but look forward to some pretty ones like your yellow ones!

Olga said...

This looks delicious! I don't think I've ever had yellow beets.

I tried raw beets for the first time when I made one of Mark Bittman's recipes for shredded beet and carrot salad.

Unknown said...

Great tips for a salad! People underestimate the importance of seasoning a salad. My friends were surprised at this when I explained to them the thought I put into throwing my salads together. Sweetness has to balance out acidity. I like the shallot idea, will have to give it a try. Cilantro also tasted good mixed in with Spinach leaves!

Robin said...

Sara I love how you take fresh ingredients and weave them together into something amazing. Will have to try those beets out because the red is so messy.

Judy said...

I use beets all the time, sometimes roasting them, but usually just grating them raw over salads. I'd love to try other varieties, but in our area, they're just too pricey.

Joie de vivre said...

Sara,
I've never had raw beets before! These golden beets are so pretty.

Anonymous said...

This sounds delicious...so fresh and an escape from heavy winter meals! Yum.

Sandie said...

I don't cook or serve beets as often as I should, primarily because I'm the only one in our family that enjoys them! I think I'm going to have to start making more of an exception for myself.

jesse said...

Mmm, shallots in the dressing sounds great! Will definitely try that next time...

Maria said...

Lovely salad!! The beets are beautiful!

priscilla joy said...

Mm, looks so good and refreshing. Thank you for the salad tips!

Apples and Butter said...

I adore golden beets, but I have never used them raw in a salad. Thanks for the tip!

The Food Hunter said...

Never heard of golden beets but they look good. Thanks for the tips

Anonymous said...

Yuumm!! Looks so tasteful!!

Erica said...

All of your food looks so pretty! I have never tried gold beets!

Yasmeen said...

I know the red mess the beets can made,these golden ones look great in the salad.please trail back to my blog for a
token of gratitude:)

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

Looks like a success. Beautiful salad.