My childhood memory of beets includes that gagging reflex that accompanied the phrase, “Not until you’re done with your vegetables.” I was generally a good eater, but I absolutely hated beets.
Of course, my brother loved beets, but he did always choose to love the exact opposite of what I claimed to be my favorite. In the 70′s when the hot thing was collecting “smelly stickers”, my favorite was red raspberry. I can still smell that synthetic tart berry scent just thinking about it. My brother? His favorite was skunk. Who likes skunk smelly stickers??? He had pages of them in his sticker album that over powered the smell of any other sticker in the same room. The same went with candy. I loved red licorice. My brother liked black. And at Easter when I had finished my favorite orange jelly beans, I knew I could trade my brother all of my black jelly beans for the rest of his orange ones. My brother was weird.
But maybe he was on to something with the beets.
Mind you, I never had a fresh beet until I was an adult. I waited as long as possible to try them remembering the canned beets of my childhood. But when I tried a fresh beet I was amazed that the two were even related.
And then I tried raw beets in salads. Delicious.
As you know, our CSA keeps us well-stocked with vegetables that I had never even heard of before. And this month there was an abundance of beets. In keeping with my Raw Challenge, I came up with this tasty raw root vegetable salad that I think you’ll really enjoy. We did.
Raw Beet and Carrot Salad
by HeatherIngredients:
- 3 c. shredded beets (about 6-8 small beets)
- 3 c. shredded carrots
- 1 T. white balsamic vinegar
- 1 T. olive oil
- 1 T. lemon juice
- 1/2 c. coarsely chopped parsley (plus a few sprigs for garnish)
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground mustard
Directions:
1. Shred beets and carrots in a food processor.
2. Whisk together white balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, and ground mustard. Then drizzle over the beets and carrots and mix lightly.
3. Gently fold in parsley and add a few sprigs for garnish.
Serves 8
(What was your favorite smelly sticker?)
This recipe is linked to:
- Slightly Indulgent Tuesday hosted by Amy of Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free
- Gluten-Free Wednesdays hosted by Linda of Gluten-Free Homemaker
- Real Food Weekly hosted by Diane of The WHOLE Gang
omg smelly stickers, I totally forgot about those. My favorite was strawberry. mmmm
How funny! This is very similar to a traditional Russian salad that we just had for dinner tonight. Ours uses diced beets, peas and carrots and dill pickles with just enough mayo to make a dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste. This is not only one of my favorite salads, it’s one of my favorite foods. Period. Perfect combination of sweet/tart/salty/crunchy/soft yum. Not to mention the gorgeous colors.
That sounds really good (without the peas). My mouth is watering just thinking about those dill pickles!
At a child I like the faux watermelon (jolly rancher) smell but not now so tastes do change. Admission, other than juice I don’t eat raw beets but I will try this salad. Glad you didn’t prep it with a mandoline, scared of those.
I am excited to try this. I LOVE beets and am always trying to find a new way to make them.
Then you will LOVE this salad! Thanks for commenting, Jenny!
What great timing! I just read an article last week touting some newly discovered health benefits of beets so I’m always open to new ways of incorporating them into my diet!
Have you ever put them in a smoothie? Oh, the color!
Wow, look at the colour in that salad! I’ve recently taken a liking to beets after trying them raw in a vegetarian burger a few months ago. I had no idea that they could be so sweet! Will definitely be incorporating them more into my recipes.
Oooh, what a lovely idea to add beets to veggie burgers! I’m going to have to try that when my CSA starts up again!
I luv your introduction. So reminds me of my childhood.
I well remember as a child the plate of Beetroot and onions in vinegar that used to stand for days on our dining table.
A constant reminder both in its vivid purpleness and the pungent aroma, of the horribleness of it all to me as a young child.
It has stayed with me all my life.
Perhaps as I approach fifty it’s time to revisit this much maligned veg, lol.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I’ve been trying to go gluten free (more or less) for the past couple weeks.. and also keep the pounds off, lol. My sister visited last month and she always brings an assortment of junk food into the house.. Needless to say, what could I do but indulge in some of it!
It looks delicious. I like to serve something sweet with raw beets like prunes or shredded apple together with the Sweet N Sour Vinaigrette Salad Dressing. Rucola salad also suits well with beets and walnuts.
Cassandra
My blog: Strider Bike
Being an old country boy I am very familiar with beets, way back then you ate what was available, and now I eat most everything. I am not real familiar with a gluten free diet, but I am going to try your recipe as it looks pretty tasty.
Wow, smelly sticker. Haven’t thought about those in a long time.
My favorite was watermelon, but I seem to remember torturing the rest of my family with those skunk stickers too
And I’m with you – the gag reflex from canned beets is still with me after all these years. Maybe I’ll have to try fresh ones myself and see what I’m missing.