My New Favorite Salad

I made this salad last night. Actually, that’s not true. Andy fried some flounder and made this salad last night. Yesterday morning, he declared, as he is wont to do, that he felt like being in charge of dinner. That was fine by me because I had a lot of email to catch up with, and figured I could work while he cooked. I flipped open my laptop at the kitchen table and sipped a glass of wine, while he dredged some flounder and set the Sonos to Gravity’s Gone. On repeat. As he is wont to do. Then I saw him remove the kale from the fridge as he is wont to—

I just…I just…couldn’t do kale again. It’s not so much that I’m over kale (which seems to be the trendy thing to say these days), it’s just that visions of beets and oranges had been swirling in my head all weekend. Also — and I am aware how this sounds — I knew beets would be less of a fight with the girls than kale, especially when pared with oranges. And I don’t like fighting at Sunday dinner.

“Kale salad sound good?” he asked as he pulled down a bowl from the shelf.

“Sure,” I shouted over the Truckers. “Or beets with oranges? I’ll make it — just going to finish writing this email.”

But by the time I pressed “send” — couldn’t have been more than 10 minutes — there was a genius winter salad on the table. Beets and oranges, yes, but also feta, almonds, some chopped mint and freshly ground pepper.

I think it’s the new kale salad.

Beets with Oranges and Feta
Lately, Abby’s been tossing the pre-cooked beets from Trader Joe’s into the shopping cart. They look kind of strange all slimy and tightly shrink-wrapped together. But seriously, who am I to stop her?

In a large bowl whisk together 1/4 cup red wine vinegar (or white balsamic if you have it) with 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, a sprinkle of sugar.

Amounts to taste: Add greens, cooked beets (roughly chopped), oranges (sliced or supremed if you are man enough), almonds or pistachios, a few mint leaves (chopped), a sprinkling of feta, a handful of chopped scallions, salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss.

Book owners: Fried flounder recipe, page 143.

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17 Comments

jennybookworm

Huh – I made almost exactly this salad last night – beets, oranges, feta, balsamic and olive oil – check! Mine also had cilantro, blanched green beans and chopped pistachios on top for a little crunch. We ate ours with meatloaf and homemade bread too – love Sunday night dinner!

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Ann

I was just looking at those beets this morning and wondering if they were good to buy and use. I grabbed green beans instead. Next visit, I will grab the beets too! This looks amazing! Thanks!

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Nancy

Citrus in salad is so good! Had baby spinach on hand last night, but not much else veggie wise, so used grapefruit segments, toasted walnuts and goat cheese.

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Joy

Thanks for the TJs beet recommendation, I’ll have to try those. I love any salad with oranges. Yum!

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Rona

This looks so healthy and colorful. Makes me actually want winter produce to stay in season longer.

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Natalie

I love those TJ’s beets, and mint on a salad is a fabulous idea– why didn’t I think of that?

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Karen

pre-cooked beets, thanks for the great idea! On a semi-related note, did you see the new Trader Joe’s 10-minute quick cooking bags of farro, bulgur and barley? I’m going to try all of the above

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Jenny

Karen – YES! I have spied those quick cook bags and even have a few in the pantry right now (farro and barley). Why are they so appealing?!?

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Jos

My fav combo for salad – love citrus with beets and feta – tick tick tick. Am also throwing millet through that sort of combo – so yum. Officially hungry again – good thing it is almost dinner time downunder!

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kate

Thank you for inspiring me to make that salad. I went crazy over beets this summer and then kind of forgot about them. It is just me and the kids this week, so there will be a lot of kid-centered meals, but this beet salad made me feel like I was treating myself like an adult.

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Maria Tadic

I love this combination as well. You get a bit of everything – sweet, tart, crunchy, salt, creamy! It’s a party in your mouth! I need to make this one!

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ali

I’m not a huge fan of beets but this salad looks amazing. I need to start liking beets and I think I’ll start with this salad! Thanks! =]

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instagram

Yumyum! I decided to eat more beets and this salad recipe is perfect for me. Thank you for sharing! Gonna try it soon!

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