Recipe sent in by CSA member Paul Rowley. This beet salad is flavored with Tabil, a wonderful spice mix from Tunisia and a great mix to have on hand.
INGREDIENTS
For the Salad:
2 lbs of beets, washed and trimmed. Small ones work great for this. Larger ones you can cut down to help cook quicker.
6 oz Feta cheese (for vegans you can easily leave out the cheese - the beets are great on their own too, or add garbanzos for protein.
Sherry Vinegar (Balsamic and red wine vinegars will work too)
Olive Oil
1 small clove garlic
2 tablespoons of fresh chopped herbs (Parsley , cilantro, thyme, or oregano are great))
Salt and pepper
For the Tabil Spice Mix:
Feel free to improvise with this. The main flavor is the sweet orange coriander combined with the caraway. If you don’t have both anis and fennel you can swap one for the other easily.
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon anis seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
For the Tabil Spice Mix:
Heat the spices very gently in a dry pan for about a minute to bring out the flavors.
Grind the spices to a medium-fine powder in a mortar and pestle, or if you have an old coffee grinder that works really well.
I often make more than needed and store the mix - it’s great also on chicken or fish, with chickpeas, and on roasted peppers, and sautéed greens.
For the Salad:
Steam the beets over a pot of boiling water in a steamer. Keep them covered. Add a bay leaf to the water if you have it and keep the water on a good simmer - no need to boil it hard.
It takes around 30 mins depending on how large the beets are. You can also roast the beets at 350 degrees for about 30-45 mins. Either way you know they are done when a fork can be pushed into the beet and it’s soft but firm inside. A good idea when roasting beets is to cover them so they don’t dry out in the oven.
Let the beets cool and then slip the skins off them with your fingers - they should come off easily.
Chop the beets into bite sized pieces and put them in a serving bowl. Add about 2 teaspoons of your Tabil mix - more or less depending on your taste - and toss so the beets are covered.
Make the dressing - a simple vinaigrette with about 1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar and two tablespoons of olive oil. Sherry vinegar is light and has tons of flavor. Red wine vinegar and balsamic are great with beets too. Balsamic is stronger so use a little less to your taste.
Now mix the dressing in with beets and give it a good stir. Add a grind of black pepper - don’t add salt at this point as the feta is going to add some saltiness to the dish. You want a contrast between the salty feta and the sweet earthy beets.
Now for the cheese. Peel the garlic clove and crush it with a fork and about a 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Pop this in a bowl with a squeeze of lemon juice and a dash of olive oil. Crumble the feta into small pieces into the bowl and mix.
Drop small pieces of your feta mix over the beets. Add some fresh chopped herbs. Taste for seasoning.
This is great as a salad on it’s own. Pairs really well with arugula and other fresh greens. It keeps really well and can also be served on toast or flatbread as a snack.