A super healthy beetroot salad, full of vitamins and minerals, simple to prepare, flavoursome with aromatic cumin seeds and fresh, fragrant mint.
These beet spirals have a combination of sweetness and earthiness which works well with the tart red wine vinegar dressing, aromatic cumin and fresh mint in this salad.
Pair this cold beet salad with rich meats like pork, roast ham, beef brisket, gamey meats such as duck, as well as oilier fish like sardines, herring or salmon.
A quick nutritional snapshot of beetroot salad
Beetroot is a wonderfully healthy root vegetable used in many cuisines around the world packed with essential vitamins and minerals, they are:
- a rich source of fibre to support digestive health
- a valuable and grain-free source of carbohydrates for sustained energy
- full of vitamin C which maintains and repairs body tissue helps absorb iron and helps form collagen for healthy skin and hair
- high in iron and folate which both help to make red and white blood cells
- rich in the minerals manganese, potassium and magnesium, which help regulate fluid balance and muscle contractions
- full of nitrates, which have a blood pressure-lowering effect and also valuable for athletes as they improve oxygen use and time to exhaustion (consume 2-3 hours before training)
How to make beetroot salad
1Prepare the beets
Trim the root end and the leaves from your beets, but do not throw them away if they are fresh and unmarked as they make a great salad on their own (just blanch them until tender, drain, season and add some red wine vinegar & olive oil!).
Scrub your beets thoroughly under cold running water to remove all the dirt. As beets are grown in the ground they are quite often laden with dirt.
Then spiralize on a medium setting using a spiralizer, cut the end bits into matchsticks.
Place the spiralled beetroot in a large pan with cold water and boil to your liking (either soft or al dente) (approximately 20 minutes).
Drain and rinse under cold water until cool, cut your spirals with some kitchen scissors so that they are manageable.
Alternatively, boil your beets whole (approximately 30-40 minutes) then cut into julienne or chop into small dice.
TRIM YOUR BEETS SCRUB YOUR BEETS PEEL YOUR BEETS SPIRALIZE YOUR BEETS
2Toast cumin seeds
Place your cumin seeds in a hot frypan and heat until they are golden and aromatic approximately 2-3 minutes. Once they are ready, immediately remove to a cold plate to stop the cooking process, otherwise, they may burn.
PUT CUMIN SEEDS IN A HOT PAN TOAST UNTIL GOLDEN AND AROMATIC
3Assemble beetroot salad
In a large mixing bowl add the cool beetroot and the herbs, minced garlic, oil and red wine vinegar, season with salt and pepper and mix until well combined.
Arrange your cold beet salad in a bowl and chill until you are ready to serve.
ADD ALL INGREDIENTS TO A BOWL TOSS WELL TO COMBINE
Some tips and tricks for making this salad
- If you don’t have a sprializer then there is no need to panic, you can easily boil your beets and cut them into small dice or julienne instead.
- You can also make this cold beet salad the day before, keep it in the fridge and just add the parsley and mint just before serving. This allows the flavours to develop for a much tastier salad.
- As a time-saver, you can also use the vacuum-packed beets that you find in the fruit and veg section of your supermarket for this salad. You will lose some of the sweet taste and some flavour but they are still good as they have been steamed whole and then sealed to retain their nutrients and freshness. Just chop them into small dice or julienne to use.
- This cold beet salad is perfect to food prep for your lunches during the week as you can add some grains such as pearl barley or quinoa and some additional protein such as grilled chicken, roast beef or feta to make a substantial, lunch. Again, leave the mint and parsley out until the last minute.
- This may seem like a lot of dressing, but the beetroots really need it so that they can soak up all the delicious flavours from the red wine vinegar and cumin seeds. Also, the bright red earthy beet juice with the dressing is just so delicious to dunk some fresh bread into!
Try some more beet salad recipes
(Times are an estimate and will depend on your skill level)
Equipment
- Spiralizer
Ingredients
- 700 grams beets (6 small beets or 4 medium to large beets -bulbs only)
- 1 cup parsley leaves (chopped)
- ½ cup mint leaves (chopped)
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds (toasted)
- 1 garlic clove (minced)
- ½ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- Sea salt and cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Wash, trim and peel your beetroots, then spiralize on a medium setting using a spiralizer. (Reserve your beet leaves for another use.)1
- Place the spiralled beetroot in a large pan with cold water and boil to your liking (either soft or al dente) (approximately 20 minutes).
- Alternatively, boil your beets whole (approximately 30-40 minutes) then cut into julienne or chop into small dice.
- Drain and rinse under cold water until cool, cut your spirals with some kitchen scissors so that they are manageable.
- Place your cumin seeds in a hot frypan and heat until they are golden and aromatic approximately 2-3 minutes. Once they are ready, immediately remove to a cold plate to stop the cooking process, otherwise, they may burn.
- In a large mixing bowl add the cool beetroot and the herbs, minced garlic, oil and red wine vinegar, season with salt and pepper and mix until well combined.
- Arrange in a salad bowl and chill until you are ready to serve.
Notes
- You can also make this salad the day before, keep it in the fridge and just add the parsley and mint just before serving. This allows the flavours to develop for a much tastier salad.
Leave a Reply