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Try this Beet Salad Recipe with Feta and Dill: it's an easy side dish recipe and is a great alternative to the usual dinner sides. Served cold with citrus and olive oil as a dressing it is a healthy and fresh option for any season!
Try these other great salad recipes: Strawberry Salad, Marinated Vegetable Salad and Cajun Black Bean Salad.
Beet Salad
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Full disclosure: I've never been much of a fan of beets (what a way to start a post about a beet salad, right?!). I don't have a huge sweet tooth and I know their earthy flavor can be divisive. Interestingly, if they're part of a salad, I tend to leave them in because I'm ok with a bit of that earthy flavor seeping into my dressing. Weirdo.
All that to say, this salad is is delicious and I'll happily eat beets in this form. I roast beets and cut them up then added some really thinly sliced red onions for crunch and flavor. Feta cheese was obviously a must! I opted for olive oil and lemon juice for brightness and couldn't resist chopping some fresh dill and throwing it in because I can never seem to get enough dill in my life. The result was a crazy delicious and easy-to-make cold beet salad that can turn anyone into a beet-believer!
Tips for making a Roasted Beet Salad
Wash your beets well before roasting!
When handling the beets, I highly recommend using gloves when working with them if you don't want to end up with pink hands.
I'd encourage you to hold off on adding the feta cheese until just before serving. If you do it earlier, it'll still taste the same, but the beet juices will turn the feta purple, so you won't get the prettycontrast of the white against the purple beets.
Don't throw those beet greens away- once washed, they're tasty sautéed with olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper.
Serve this at any dinner party or as a tasty alternative option to the usual suspects on any holiday table!
Ingredient information that's helpful to know:
Beets:I used standard purple beets, but this is also delicious with golden beets if that's what is available.
Feta cheese:I buy mine already crumbled and prefer full-fat.
Red onion:Slice these as thin as possible (with a mandolin or a very sharp knife). If the flavor of raw onions is too much for you, soak them in very cold water for 10-15 minutes and then drain really well before adding to the salad; this will take the edge off the flavor and mellow the onions out a bit.
Fresh dill: Don't leave the dill out, it adds a fresh, lovely flavor. If you can't get your hands on fresh dill, dried dill works too.
How do you roast beets?
Roasting the beets is a breeze! Wash them well, remove the top and bottom, drizzle with a little EVOO and wrap tightly in foil before popping them into the oven. Roast at 400 degrees for around an hour (or more if needed). Cool and peel.
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Try this Beet Salad Recipe with Feta and Dill
Jessy Freimann
Try this Beet Salad Recipe with Feta and Dill: it's an easy side dish recipe and is a great alternative to the usual dinner sides. Served cold with citrus and olive oil as a dressing it is a healthy and fresh option for any season!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and lay out a piece of foil for each beet.
Place each beet onto a piece of foil. Drizzle a small amount of oil into it and wrap each beet tightly so that the steam stays in the packet.
Roast for around 1 hour- check them for doneness (they should be fork tender) and if need be, bake for longer (mine took around 1 hours and 15 minutes).
When the beets are done, refrigerate until they've cooled completely.
Once cool, peel off the skins (they should peel off really easily with your fingers or a knife, if you'd prefer) and cut into bite-size wedges.
Drizzle with a little oil and the juice of 1 lemon and toss with onion, dill, salt and pepper to taste.
Refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before serving, top with crumbled Feta cheese to taste.
The softest texture will be the boiled beets, the roasted beets will be tender, but will still have a little “bite” to them. The steamed beets will be somewhere in the middle. If using the beets in a salad, or serving them as a side dish, I prefer the roasted or steamed beets.
Roasting brings out their natural sweetness, which is enhanced by a drizzle honey and balsamic vinegar. Roasting beets also give them the best texture (not mushy like boiled beets). Roasted beets taste like vegetable candy, and are so delicious my kids love them too!
Roast until the beets are just tender when pierced with the point of a knife, about 1 1/4 hours. Unwrap the beets and let them cool. Meanwhile, whisk oil, vinegar, mustard, honey, salt and pepper in a small bowl to make the dressing. When the beets are cool enough to handle, slip off the skins.
First, wash and scrub the beets thoroughly to remove any dirt. Cut off the greens if attached. Make sure to leave about one inch of the stem to prevent them from releasing too much red color into the water. Do not peel the beets before boiling, unless you want to boil them cubed.
Place the beets in a large saucepan and add water to cover and the lemon juice or vinegar. This will help to keep the beets from bleeding. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Place pot under running cold water and let rinse until beets can be handled.
Some foods that mix well with beets include goat cheese, arugula, walnuts, lemon juice, and balsamic vinegar. Other complementary ingredients include orange, dill, horseradish, and sour cream. Beets also pair well with meats such as chicken, fish, and pork.
No need to peel before or after baking. The skin, which is perfectly edible, just seems to disappear during the baking process. The trick to pan-roasted beets is to drop the temperature a bit. I always roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and pretty much all the other veggies at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Eating beets raw or juicing and roasting them may be more beneficial than boiling them. Beetroots, commonly known as beets, are a vibrant and versatile type of vegetable. They're known for their earthy flavor and aroma. Many people call them a superfood because of their rich nutritional profile.
For meals, the two most common ways to prepare this root vegetable is to roast or boil it. Roasted beetroot provides a nourishing, hearty taste, and boiling brings bright and vibrant colour.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until fork-tender, 25 to 35 minutes for medium beets or 45 minutes to 1 hour for large beets. 3. Immediately move the cooked beets into ice-cold water and peel off the skins.
Wash the beets gently, making sure that you don't tear the skins, then place in a pan of warm water, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer until tender – around 20–30 minutes. Alternatively, you can steam whole beetroot or bake them in the oven for 2–3 hours at 150°C/gas mark 2.
Beets are an incredibly nutritious ingredient, meaning beet salads are good for you. They taste earthy with a hint of sweetness and are rich in vitamin C, fiber, and folate. Beet lovers rejoice with my Beet Hummus.
Packed with nutrition, beets have antioxidants like betalains that fight cell damage and inflammation, potentially offering protection against cancer and heart disease. Health benefits of beets include more stamina during exercise, heart disease and stroke prevention, and lower blood pressure.
How to Store Beet Salad. Cooked beets will last for three to five days in the refrigerator. Store them in an airtight container or heavy-duty aluminum foil for best results. To freeze beets for salad, store them (cubed or whole) in a freezer-safe container or bag for up to eight months.
Cooking beets won't give you the same health benefits because heat destroys betalain pigments and hampers nitrates, but it's still good for your health. To preserve the maximum health benefits, grate raw beets into salads or steam/roast beets just long enough to tenderize them.
While cooking techniques like pan-frying, shallow-frying and deep-frying increase calorie, salt and fat content, stir-frying is a healthier technique. We recommend using a stainless steel wok from Saladmaster to stir-fry beets and other vegetables.
As much as I adore Beet Salad, I rarely made it at home, because by the time I finished the beets, my hands, cutting board, and counter all were stained with telltale red juices. Then, I picked up a transformative piece of information: you do not need to peel beets when roasting.
Roasting is going to provide a bit of a charred flavor. Boiling will give you a softer beet, and steaming will be somewhere in the middle. If you're making them as a side dish, all three of the methods below are delicious, so it's really up to you!
Introduction: My name is Geoffrey Lueilwitz, I am a zealous, encouraging, sparkling, enchanting, graceful, faithful, nice person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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