Beet and Orange salad (Salatat Shmandar wBurtukal)

Beet & Orange salad

I  was watching Chef Elie on Soufra Daymeh, the daily cooking segment on LBC; he made a similar salad.  Beets are so healthy to eat, since they almost cure you of all major diseases (anemia, cancer and the like); I vote to have all American public schools ban tater tots from their cafeterias and replace them with this salad!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 or 4 beets
  • 3 or 4 oranges
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 scallion (optional)
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon of honey
  • 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger

METHOD:

  1. For the salad: Roast the beets in a 375F oven till cooked, about 40 minutes.
  2. Peel the beets (with gloved hands preferably) and slice.
  3. Peel the oranges cutting through the rind and white skin, into quarters.
  4. Dispose the beets and oranges on a platter, sprinkle with chopped green onion if you wish and pour a few tablespoons of dressing.
  5. Serve

For the dressing:

  1. Mash the garlic with a pinch of salt, and a teaspoon of grated fresh ginger.
  2. Add a teaspoon of honey, stir.
  3. Squeeze half of an orange onto the mixture.
  4. Whisk while adding some olive oil, about double the volume of the orange juice.

NOTE: Chef Elie simply used rice vinegar for the dressing and no ginger. I just like mine better!

beet & orange salad

NOTE: Don’t throw away the beet leaves! Here’s a few ideas:

  1. Blanch them quickly (30 seconds) in boiling water and freeze.
  2. Use chopped in a bean soup.
  3. Use in lieu of spinach in turnovers or a quiche or a pasta dish.

HOW TO PEEL AN ORANGE:

I was watching Chef Elie effortlessly peel oranges and detach the segments and it dawned on me that I needed to master this (very useful) skill.

First step: Peel the orange à vif, or without any skin showing.

Second step: With a serrated knife, cut quarters in-between the skins.

And with the rest of the orange, well you can eat it! (good fiber!)

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18 Comments

  1. Joanne
    Posted January 22, 2010 at 6:01 pm | Permalink

    Perfect timing! I had beets for the first time today and actually liked them. This recipe looks awesome!

  2. Dinners & Dreams
    Posted January 22, 2010 at 7:40 pm | Permalink

    Even though I’m not a big fan of beets, I love the colors of this salad. I might even enjoy it because of the orange. Great combination. On the other hand, my mom loves beets and would eat it everyday if she could. Have a great evening!

    Nisrine

  3. rajani@eatwritethink
    Posted January 22, 2010 at 10:58 pm | Permalink

    i can never peel oranges so perfectly!! very nice recipe :) i can just imagine the flavours, sweet, citrus and gingery!

  4. The London Foodie
    Posted January 23, 2010 at 3:35 am | Permalink

    Lovely salad, I make something similar at home but I add coriander for the colour and freshness. What is the vegetable that you have on top of the salad with green leaves?

  5. delices eyes
    Posted January 23, 2010 at 5:37 am | Permalink

    L’association betterave-orange est pour moi, une découverte…
    Bonne journée

  6. Joumana
    Posted January 23, 2010 at 6:12 am | Permalink

    A green onion or scallion.

  7. Nadjibella
    Posted January 23, 2010 at 6:54 am | Permalink

    L’association orange /betterave me plait beaucoup.
    Je ne l’ai encore jamais testée mais ça saurait tardé.
    A bientôt.

  8. Rachana Kothari
    Posted January 23, 2010 at 8:16 am | Permalink

    The Salad looks tempting. I like the combination of beet and orange. Healthy and Delicious.

  9. oum mouncifrayan
    Posted January 23, 2010 at 8:34 am | Permalink

    c’est ma salade préférée!!! ta version me plait bien

  10. Ivy
    Posted January 23, 2010 at 3:00 pm | Permalink

    I love beets and I could eat this salad every day.

  11. Arlette
    Posted January 23, 2010 at 5:15 pm | Permalink

    How funny I made this salad for a catering event last wee, and then made it for us the second day and I didnt get the time to post it yet……….
    great salad any time… I used orange peel and homemade red wine vinegar , red onion rings and garlic.

    great photos

  12. dana
    Posted January 23, 2010 at 11:20 pm | Permalink

    Hi Joumana,

    Beets and Orange are a lovely combination. I prepare a very similar salad. I place some mesclun green on a serving dish. I top it with rounds of beets, segments of orange, thin slices of red onion, some candied pecans and a few pieces of Maytag blue.
    I prepare the dressing on the side (orange wine vinegar (from Texas olive oil ranch, amazing!!) with extra virgin olive oil and some kosher salt and black pepper). I drizzle the dressing over the salad platter to taste.

    Cheers,
    Dana

  13. Joumana
    Posted January 24, 2010 at 12:15 am | Permalink

    Yummyyyyyyyy!

  14. pierre
    Posted January 24, 2010 at 2:57 am | Permalink

    hello joumana
    Nice dish you present I love beets ! and with orange must be delicious !!
    à bientot il pleut auj à Paris! Pierre

  15. Simply Life
    Posted January 24, 2010 at 6:11 am | Permalink

    Oh that dressing sounds great!

  16. peter
    Posted January 25, 2010 at 9:49 am | Permalink

    I love the colour contrast and I might even add some Feta or goat cheese in the mix!

  17. Nicole
    Posted January 26, 2010 at 11:43 pm | Permalink

    I have beets and blood oranges in the fridge, waiting to be turned into a salad! I was planning on using spinach, golden beets, blood oranges, blue cheese and walnuts :-)

  18. Heather Ruzic
    Posted August 19, 2010 at 8:54 am | Permalink

    I have decided to start a protest against tater tots in my childs school. Find me on facebook to see if I can pull it off. Mom vs. The TateTot. Heather Holden Ruzic

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