Red Hot Beet Salad
This salad is so jam-packed with nutrients it’s hard to believe it could taste so good. You get half your day’s requirement for folate, a B vitamin essential for preventing birth defects and heart disease. Since antioxidants are in the color of vegetables and fruits, this salad is a wonderland with the beets, dark greens, and watermelon. It’s a meal in itself or serve with your favorite meat or fish. Make extra dressing and store in the refrigerator to use throughout the week on other salads or even as a dip.
Red Hot Beet Salad
- 1 pound beets, with stems and tails removed
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- dash of red pepper flakes
- dash salt and pepper to taste (optional)
- 2 cups watermelon puree (place in watermelon in blender and liquify))
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cooking sherry
- dash salt (optional)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 5 cups baby lettuce
- 1/4 of a watermelon thinly sliced and cut into triangles
- 1/4 cup low-fat crumbled blue cheese
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Peel beets if desired. Otherwise, slice into 1 /2 inch pieces and toss with 2 teaspoons olive oil, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper. Place on a cookie sheet and roast until firm, but slightly tender when pierced with a folk, approximately 25 minutes. Remove from oven to cool.
3. While beets are roasting, place watermelon juice in a medium saucepan and simmer until reduced to 2/3 cup and mixture has a slight syrupy consistency. Add lemon juice, vinegar, sherry, and salt and return to a simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, cool slightly, and add olive oil. Adjust seasonings.
4. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of dressing over beets and toss. Place lettuce and 1 cup of watermelon in a large mixing bowl and toss with remaining dressing until thoroughly coated. Transfer greens and watermelon to 4 plates, top with beets and remaining watermelon chunks, then sprinkle blue cheese over the top.
The Author:
Photo and recipe courtesy of the Watermelon Board. https://watermelon.org
