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Beet, avocado and feta salad (or wrap)
This creamy and tangy salad marries perfectly the earthiness of beets, the bite of tomatoes, and the lusciousness of avocado. It makes for a satisfying and delicious lunch on its own, or in wrap with a bit of rice and salsa. I suggest using leftover-tomato vinaigrette, which alone is worth its own post. This brilliant vinaigrette by Dorie Greenspan really is more of a recommendation for pairing old, wilted tomatoes with any ingredients you have in your fridge or pantry - herbs, olives, honey. It will also keep well in the fridge for a week, and pair beautifully with other hearty salads.
Servings 2
Ingredients
- 4 medium beets or 8 small ones, or 3 large ones
- 1 ripe avocado
- ¼ cup of feta about 1 ounce, crumbled, or more, to taste
- 1 cup of small cherry tomatoes
- Dorie Greenspan's leftover-tomato vinaigrette recipe follows (or any other tangy vinaigrette)
- juice of ⅛ of a lemon
- 2 Tbs fresh cilantro
- a pinch of ground chili peppers about ½ a teaspoon, or more, to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 Tbs salsa optional, if making into a wrap
- ½ cup of rice optional, if making into a wrap
- For Leftover-tomato vinaigrette:
- 1 to mato that has seen better days or any ends of tomatoes you have in the fridge
- 1 Tb of red wine vinegar or any vinegar you like
- 1 teaspoon of mustard
- 1 teaspoon of olive tapenade I happened to have some on hand. But a few pitted olives will do just as well.
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Wash beets and trim their ends, removing all leaves and stem.
- If roasting beets, preheat oven to 375F (I always roast more beets than I need for one recipe, and keep the rest for salads throughout the week). Rub beets with a dab of olive oil. Wrap each 2 beets in an aluminum foil pouch. Place on baking sheet and roast in the oven until a fork easily goes through the beets, about 45 minutes to an hour (larger beets take longer to cook, and should be wrapped in individual tin foil packages). Remove from oven, let cool slightly, and peel gingerly.
- If boiling beets, place beets fill a pot with enough water to cover them by two inches. Bring to a boil, then cook on medium-high heat until a fork easily goes through the beets, about 35-40 minutes. Remove from pot, let cool slightly, and peel.
- Chop beets into small chunks. Place in a medium-sized bowl.
- Cut cherry tomatoes in half, and add to bowl.
- Cut avocado in half and remove seed. Score the avocado with a knife into small chunks, and then scoop out the avocado flesh into the bowl with the beets. Mix well, taking care not to bruise the avocado.
- Top with crumbled feta and cilantro. Squeeze lime on top. Top with leftover-tomato vinaigrette, or any other vinaigrette you have (or even just more lime juice and olive oil).
- Season with salt and pepper according to taste, though I find this dish doesn't usually need any.
- If making into a wrap: Heat up two tortilla wraps, and smear one tablespoon of salsa at the bottom of each wrap. Top with ¼ cup of rice, or about 2 tablespoons. Top with salad mixture, and drizzle with hot sauce, if desired.
- Leftover-tomato vinaigrette (Adapted from Dorie Greenspan, http://doriegreenspan.com/2013/08/yesterdays-tomatoes-todays-vinaigrette.html): Place the entire tomato (juice, seeds, ends and all, except the green stem, of course) and all other ingredients into a blender, and whirr until sauce reaches a desired consistency. Taste, correct seasonings if needed, and season with salt and pepper.