Beet and Crispy Garlic Salad
Until this past year, I thought that I hated all salads. I spent my life passing on my salad course at restaurants to my mother to eat for me. I knew that I liked spinach, sure, but that certainly didn’t count as salad in my mind.
Last summer, my friend Coby introduced me to a salad of mixed baby greens, beets, and chevre, with a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. He opened my mind to the idea that salad could be something interesting and delicious. We still make that basic salad occasionally, adding in some minced preserved lemon for extra kick.
Then another friend, Tse Wei, introduced me to a salad of watercress and sauteed pears. How marvelous! I slowly realized that I don’t hate salad at all. I just hate lettuce.
The salad featured in this post combines the sweetness of roasted beets with the savory crunch of crispy garlic, pulled together by the fresh greenness of, well, little green tasty things. Dave and I recently served a five course meal where this salad stole the show.
Beet and Crispy Garlic Salad
Beets
Garlic
Olive oil
Micro greens/sprouts
Clean your beets and cut off a bit on each end. Rub them all over with olive oil, wrap them aluminum foil, and bake them until they are softened to your liking. They should be fairly easily pierced by a fork. You can do this at a high temperature for a shorter period of time, or at a low temperature for a longer period of time, it doesn’t matter which.
When the beets are done, peel off the skin and slice the beets into thick slices.
Mince some garlic and stir-fry it in olive oil over medium-high heat until it almost (but not quite!) crispy, then turn off the heat and keep stirring as it finishes crisping in the residual heat.
Serve the beets topped with crispy garlic and some sprouts or micro greens.
April 21st, 2007 at 10:20 pm
I have a similar feeling about salad. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I realized I actually like it (my favorite? Baby spinach, Granny Smith apples, dried cherries, almonds, goat cheese, and croutons), under the right circumstances.
I still don’t eat most restaurant salads, because they usually suck.
April 21st, 2007 at 10:30 pm
It’s very pretty. I’m sure people who like garlic will love it. *grin*
By the way, I keep meaning to mention that on the RSS feed, an extraneous “</p>” shows up at the bottom of your posts, after the “Read more” link.
April 21st, 2007 at 11:16 pm
I can’t believe you didn’t like salad, what a terrifying thought, I’m so glad you have reformed. The crispy garlic looks delicious!
April 21st, 2007 at 11:43 pm
I love salad and these look gorgeous! :)
April 22nd, 2007 at 6:49 am
I’ve recently discovered beet microgreens in my local Whole Foods — they’re sold still growing in their pots. Other micros are available as well — amaranth, celery, etc. I know this product is also available in NYC. I think these little greens would be a perfect topping for the beet salad. And, by the way, hooray for you for getting over the salad prohibition — salads are wonderful, with or without lettuce!
April 22nd, 2007 at 1:26 pm
It looks BEAUTIFUL!
With me, it’s been almost the other way around - I’ve only recently realized that I don’t really mind having vegetables and fruit mixed in with my mixed greens… Although I still prefer to separate them.
April 22nd, 2007 at 6:09 pm
I love beets in salads too & this sounds like a good one, hope you keep enjoying those salads!
April 22nd, 2007 at 10:45 pm
I love salads but never make ones quite this gorgeous!
April 23rd, 2007 at 1:44 am
Hey Danielle, I bought some radish sprouts too and made soft shell crabs on a bed of radish sprouts. I will have to post the pictures and recipe soon. I love sprouts, they are such an eye-candy, delicious and healthy, too. :)
April 23rd, 2007 at 8:53 pm
i adore beets, but i also adore salad. i love the green and deep magenta color of the beets together, this looks beautiful!
April 25th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
I love salads, but am a fairly recent convert to beets. This looks and sounds lovely. I’m wondering if a little drizzle of olive oil or even a mild vinaigrette might further enhance it.