Tuesday, September 24, 2013

A Good Harvest Salad

The last couple of weeks I've been making a simple, fresh-tasting salad by mixing grated carrots and beets together.


These carrots are Danvers Half-Long. I think.  (But don't hold me to it.  Spring planting time seems a long time ago.)  Chunky little devils, aren't they?  The beet is Forono, the only variety of beet that I grow anymore.


Just grate the carrots and beets in the proportion you want into a bowl.  Approximately even amounts of both seems to taste great to us.  I use my trusty hand grater to do the grating.  It might be faster using a food processor or the shredding attachment for my KitchenAid mixer, but then I'd have to clean those parts and pieces which would take more time than cleaning my handy-dandy stainless steel hand grater.  (No free lunch, I guess.)  I do have to admit the hand grater is a little messy since I usually end up with shreds of carrots and beets flying hither and yon all over the kitchen counter (and my person).


To the grated veggies I add some roasted and salted sunflower seeds, raisins and a good sprinkle of salt.  (The amount of these ingredients should be to your own preference.)


Mix in just enough mayo for a binder and . . . voila!  An easy and, to my mind, very tasty salad.  As beets are wont to do, they tend to color anything they come in contact with so the salad will be more red than orange.  But that's fine as an attractive red salad surely does add color to a meal.  Try it, you might like it!

12 comments:

Katidids said...

Oh, that looks wonderful! I have a few beets left to pull....plotting and planning now. I'd never cared for beets (mom cooked "educated beets" YUCK) But, a few years ago we were in Poland and were served numerous beet dishes. After about 3 days we were hungry enough to eat them. O H M Y G O S H they were so good! Beet soup, grated chilled beets, beet salad, beet stew....I've yet to come up with those recipes and flavors. Just may be the beets! I've had that salad with just carrots but hadn't thought to add beets Thanks!

Sandy Livesay said...

Mama Pea,

I've never had a salad like this. One must try this recipe.

Anonymous said...

I am not a big beet fan, but will have to give this a try :) Thanks for sharing!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

I'll have to keep this in mind for next year, as our harvest was very poor this year. It looks delicious, and we love beets and carrots. P.S. Glad your bracelet arrived.

Endah Murniyati said...

I think that is a really healthy salad. But I had never success to plant beet. Maybe the tropics climate makes my beet cannot grow well. Too hot I think.

Susan said...

If only I could grow carrots, dammit. I might have to see if I can find someone who has an abundance of them and will take pity on me. That salad looks mighty good - easy and healthy. My mom used to make us a carrot/raisin salad but I like the addition of the beets.

Mama Pea said...

Katidids - You're so welcome. Beets are so good for us. They're said to have nutrient compounds that guard against heart disease and certain cancers, especially colon cancer. Good veggies!

Mama Pea said...

Sandy - It's certainly different from cooked carrots and beets. I hope you like it if you get a chance to try it.

Mama Pea said...

Stephanie - Prepared this way, I don't think you'll notice a beet "flavor" so that may help you like it!

Mama Pea said...

Kristina - I have more beets still out in the garden than I'll probably be able to use. Wish I could share some with you!

Have the bracelet right here on my desk in front of me. So pretty!

Mama Pea said...

Endah - Yes, I do think beets (like a lot of root crops) are more of a cooler weather crop.

Mama Pea said...

Susan - So what trouble do you have with growing carrots? Your climate should be good for them. We've always had carrot/raisin salad but really, really like the combo of carrots and beets better. Beets are supposedly rich in antioxidants, good for detoxification. Who doesn't need that??