My Favorite Beet Salad Recipes

PAPA'S FAVORITE BEET SALAD

Steps:

• Place beets into a large pot and cover with water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender when pierced with a fork, about 1 hour. Drain and cool until beets can be easily handled. Peel beets, cut into cubes, and place in a bowl; refrigerate until chilled, about 15 minutes.
• Whisk lemon juice, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, and garlic salt together in a large bowl until smooth. Add beets, tomatoes, onion, avocado, and feta cheese; toss. Top salad with spinach and toss.

MY FAVORITE BEET SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Place the beets into a large bowl, and drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Lay out 2 large squares of aluminum foil on a work surface, and place 3 beets onto the center of each sheet. Fold the aluminum foil into 2 envelopes, sealing the beets into the packets; place the packets into a baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Check for tenderness after 1 hour by piercing a beet with a fork. Open the foil, and allow the beets to cool until they can be handled; peel, and slice.
• Lay out the spinach leaves on an attractive oblong-shaped serving platter. Sprinkle pieces of tomato and avocado over the spinach leaves, and top with chopped red onion. Lay the sliced warm beets over the salad, and top with crumbled feta cheese.
• Whisk together balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup of olive oil, and Dijon mustard until smooth; pour over the salad to serve.

MOROCCAN COLD BEET SALAD WITH VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Rinse the beetroots. Place in a pot or pressure cooker and cover with cold water. Boil or pressure cook the beets until tender. Test by piercing the beet with a sharp knife; if it can be inserted into the center, the beet is cooked. This can take up to an hour and a half when boiling, and up to 40 minutes when pressure cooking-how long depends on how large the beets are. If the beets you're cooking are different sizes, simply check the cooking at intervals and remove the beets one by one as they're done, drain the beets, rinse under cold running water and slide the skins off while the beets are still warm.
• Allow the beets to cool.
• Cut the beets into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch slices of uniform thickness, and then cut each slice into uniformly sized cubes.
• Transfer the cubed beets to a large bowl and combine with the remaining ingredients, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Cover tightly and refrigerate at least an hour or overnight.
• Prior to serving, taste the salad and adjust the seasoning if desired. The salad may be garnished with freshly slivered onion or a little more parsley.

BEST BEET SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Wrap the beets individually in tin foil and roast directly on the rack in the oven until tender, about 1 hour. Open the foil packets and let cool. Once they're cool, peel the beets and cut into small chunks.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, honey, red onion, and mustard. Season with salt and pepper. Add the beets and spinach to the dressing and toss to coat. Transfer the salad to a platter or plates, top with the goat cheese and walnuts, and serve.

CHILLED BEET SALAD

Steps:

• NOTE: The best way I've found to peel/cook beets is from Mary Winecoff's Baked Beets recipe (http://www.recipezaar.com/251586). She wraps each beet in a square of tin foil and bakes them at 400 degrees for a hour to an hour and a half. When beets are cool enough to handle, just slip the skins off.
• Slice, dice or chop the beets. I usually cube them into 1/2 size.
• Place all the remaining ingredients (except the dill) in a serving bowl, add the beets and mix gently but thoroughly.
• Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

BEET SALAD

Steps:

• Drain beets, reserving liquid in a 2-cup measuring cup; add enough water to measure 2 cups. Set beets aside. Place beet juice mixture in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from the heat; stir in gelatin until dissolved. Add the cold water, onion, horseradish, vinegar and salt. Chill until partially set. , Stir in the celery, olives and reserved beets. Pour into an 8-in. square dish. Chill until firm, about 3 hours. Cut salad into squares. If desired, serve on a lettuce-lined plate and top with a dollop of mayonnaise and an olive.