Tag Archives: salad

Classic Beet Salad…This will turn a hater into a lover, guaranteed!!

Years ago, I hated beets. I didn’t even want to go anywhere near a beet because I had tasted them as a child and knew they were sweet and I hate sweet/savoury foods. Although, my mom used to say that I loved them as a baby.

I have a little food philosophy that goes like this… There is no food that tastes bad. If you don’t like something, it’s because you haven’t tried it cooked in the right way. This is so so so true for me and so many people I have met!

So one day, 4 or 5 years ago, Mamita (my friend’s mom who I am so so close with) was visiting from Venezuela. She made a version of what I have prepared for you today and I bravely took one bite because her eyes were so cute and her voice was so sweet when she asked me if I wanted to try it.

It was amazing!

Now I have perfected my own version so please, if you hate beets, try this salad.

And BONUS! Beets are so darn healthy!

I start by dicing two large beets into very small pieces. Here in France, I buy them already boiled and peeled. Pickled beets won’t work so if you can’t find boiled, peeled beets, just boil the beets until they are soft (over an hour), cool them and then peel them…

Throw them into a bowl…

Add 200g of snow peas, cleaned…

Add 1/2 small diced onion that has been sautéed for a couple of minutes in a little bit of olive oil…

Add 4 whole tablespoons of balsamic vinegar…

Then 3 tablespoons of olive oil…This is the only recipe where it essential to add more vinegar then oil. And that is essential!!!

Now add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. I’m using rock Himalayan salt but you can use whatever kind of salt you like…

Now stir everything together and cover it. It needs to marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours so that those beets soak up the vinegar.

Et voila!! Beet salad even a hater can love!

And now that you just love beets, check out this beet salad recipe over on Loulou’s blog!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:53]

 

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A Lesson On How To Make Any Salad Dressing

Just a note before you start reading: I am no expert. My knowledge of cooking stems from a few years in cooking classes, my crazy obsession with the Food Network, experimental kitchen craziness, countless hours spent reading cookbooks and passion. I am so surprised to find myself really not knowing much even though cooking and food are major pleasures of mine, and I cannot wait to go to France to learn the art in more fine detail. But…if there is anything I know, it is definitely what components should go into any salad dressings, so read on!

I like my salads super simple most of the time. Every once in a while I’ll add extra veggies or a few more ingredients to the salad dressing depending on my mood. When I add salad to a meal it is for the purpose of brightening up the plate, adding some cool, crunchy, fresh flavours to the hot meal and to, in a way, “clean” my taste buds in between bites. I don’t need my salads to be complicated, just fresh.

There are a few components that go into any salad dressing, but I rarely use all of them in all my dressings. I always make my own dressings (because they are so freaking easy to make, and way cheaper than buying that processed crap!) so I switch up the ingredients as much as possible.

The main components of a salad dressing should be:

  • Oil- 3 parts oil to one part acid, generally but I NEVER MEASURE!
  • Acid-vinegar or citrus
  • Emulsifier- mustard, helps combine the oil and vinegar together
  • Sweet- honey, maple syrup, jelly, brown sugar, etc
  • Aromatic-herbs, fresh or dry

Sometimes, I leave out the sweet and emulsifier. I usually leave these components out when I do not want the salad to be a feature part of the meal but just something fresh to eat in between bites of the real deal.

My Sour Summer Salad is a great example of a fresh salad which tastes awesome as refreshing treat, leaving the main dish as the centre piece.

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