Leah is our resident vegetarian.  She loves to mix up salad ingredients and find her own combinations of vegetables and dressings.  As a midnight snack this week,  she created this delicious beet salad.

I often shred and/or spiralize vegetables and keep them in containers in the refrigerator.  I also prepare dressings weekly and refrigerate them in wide-mouth squeeze bottles.  That makes for easy preparation of salads for lunches, snacks and dinner without too much additional fuss.

Leah put together some shredded fresh beets, cubed cucumbers and toasted sesame seeds and mixed in some balsamic vinegar dressing.  The result was this beautiful and delicious beet salad.

INGREDIENTS

2  cups of shredded or spiralized fresh beets
1 large seedless cucumber, scrubbed and cubed
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

DRESSING

Kosher salt, sprinkle generously
Coarse black pepper, just a pinch to taste
Balsamic vinegar, lightly drizzled
Olive or canola oil, lightly drizzled (optional)

 

DIRECTIONS

Peel beets and shred or spiralize. Scrub cucumber and cube. Right before serving, sprinkle toasted sesame seeds as well as salt and pepper on top of vegetables. Lightly drizzle with balsamic vinegar and oil. Toss all salad ingredients together. Enjoy!

 

VARIATIONS

For a lighter flavor, substitute cider vinegar, lemon juice or lime juice for balsamic vinegar

Dressing may also be made in advance and refrigerated. It can be made in a food processor, drizzling the oil into the dressing slowly and adding a squirt of mayonnaise or mustard for emulsification.  Store in wide-mouth squirt bottle for easy decanting and dressing of salads.

 

RECIPE CREDITS TO LEAH RESPLER