A sunny, 52 degree day in November is a rare occurrence in northwest Montana… but yesterday was one of those days. I decided to take a couple walks outside to soak up the last of the sunshine. Both boys and both dogs joined me on my first walk along the sunny lane in front of our house. Walk two, it was just Bower and I. Walk three, it was just me. But, the big dummy was waiting for me when I got back! It was one of those days that made me especially grateful to live in this beautiful place.
One of the other things I love about living here is the local fall produce. Squash, apples, beets… what’s is season right now is colorful and tasty and inspiring. Organic local beets are particularly easy to find here right now. I like to roast a big batch on the weekend and use them in recipes throughout the week. They are great in salads, as part of a breakfast scramble, or alongside other roasted roots (carrots + sweet potato + onion… mmmm). I am particularly fond of tossing cooked and cubed beets with a little balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper, and topping them with crumbled organic goat cheese and toasted pecans. This article gives an quick overview of why beets are good for us, and they are recommended as a big part of the Perfect Health Diet. Side note: I’m halfway through the PHD book, can’t put it down, it’s amazing. You’ll be hearing more about it here soon!
When the beet greens are lovely, I use them as the greens in this salad. But, since lovely beet greens are a little more difficult to come by (more often than not they look scraggly and beat up), I usually use the organic mixed baby kale I find at Costco. Feel free to use whatever green you find that looks good! I also like to add lentils to this salad; check out this recipe for proper preparation steps.
xo Andra
- Salad:
- 1 bunch of beets, including greens (use 4-6 cups other greens if beet greens look wimpy)
- olive oil
- 1 cup cooked and cooled lentils (optional)
- 1 small avocado, diced
- ¼ cup toasted sunflower seeds
- 1 tablespoons finely chopped chives
- Tahini Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 3 tablespoons water, or as needed
- hefty pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced
- 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoons finely chopped chives
- Preheat the oven to 450'.
- Cut the greens from the beets at their stem. Rub a bit of olive oil on the skin of the beets, sprinkle with salt and wrap them all in a foil pack. Set on the middle oven rack and cook for 45-55 minutes until you can easily piece through with a knife. Set them aside to cool.
- While the beets roast, clean and dry the beet greens. Chop off and discard the long red stems. Chop the greens and put them in a large mixing bowl.
- To prepare the dressing, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, vinegar, agave and water. Mix in the garlic, hearty pinch of salt and pepper and drizzle in the olive oil while whisking. Add more water if you prefer it thinner. Mix in the chives. Adjust to your taste and set aside.
- Once the beets are cool enough to touch, you should be able to just push the skin off with your fingers. Dice the peeled beets. Add the beets, scallions, lentils (if using) and avocado to the mixing bowl and toss with a generous amount of dressing. Sprinkle in the sunflower seeds and chives, and give it one more toss.
- Note: the salad will turn pink from the beets. If this bothers you, you can toss everything without the diced beets, and sprinkle them on top.
Recipe adapted from Sprouted Kitchen.
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