Beet, Carrot & Apple Salad is a great warm-weather salad recipe, and it comes together in just minutes.
The best part about this recipe is the short list of just five ingredients. Start with the earthiness from the beets. Now, I know some people think beets taste like dirt, but in this recipe, they’re balanced out by the sweetness from the carrot and green apple along with tartness from the lemon.
I absolutely adore beets. They’re packed with vitamins – C and B6 come to mind – and minerals like manganese and potassium. People get a little freaked out because beets are higher in carbohydrates than a lot of other veggies, but don’t fear: the carbs you do get are wrapped up with dietary fiber and all the other good stuff I mentioned earlier. In other words, you’re getting lots of great micronutrition along with the macros.
Credit for this Beet, Carrot & Apple Salad recipe goes to my good pals Jamie & Anastasia from New Zealand. We recently caught up with our darling Hobbits in Boulder for the 2016 Ancestral Health Society Symposium, and Jamie made this salad for a few of our home-cooked dinners. I put my own little spin on it, and I’m sharing it with you now.
In fact, this is a perfect segue to tell you that Jamie & Anastasia run the Ancestral Health Society of New Zealand whose next international symposium will happen in October 2017. I know that sounds like it’s a while off, but Z & I are already planning to go back again.
We spent 2-1/2 weeks traveling around New Zealand with our pals last fall, and it was the best trip I’ve ever taken. The Symposium is open to the public, and I’m telling you: If you’ve ever wanted to go to New Zealand, start planning for the fall of 2017 and save your pennies. The country is simply breathtaking and the conference was packed with the most thought-provoking talks. Click here to see my post about it. The next AHS New Zealand Symposium will be held in Queenstown, South Island in October, 2017.
On the way to Paradise. No really, that’s what it’s called….
Milford Sound. Breathtaking.
Aoraki (Mount Cook), highest point in New Zealand.
(To see my talk, Increasing the Acceptance of Strength Training for Women, from 2015’s Symposium, click here. See Z’s talk about Strength Training for Normal Humans here.)
Back to the recipe!
This Beet, Carrot & Apple Salad takes just a few minutes to create if you have a food processor with a shredding blade. I just peeled the beets, rough chopped everything, and ran it through. Of course, you can use a box grater and get a bonus arm workout at the same time.
The quantities here will make a pretty large batch that can feed 6+ people. If you want less, simply cut the quantities in half.
All you have to do is toss the shredded beets, carrots, and apples together then dress the salad very simply. I used lemon juice and a mild-tasting olive oil, but you can vary up the acid and the fat in a few different ways. If you go with lemon juice, be sure to zest the lemons first. The zest is loaded with lemon essential oil, and it goes a long way to give a real burst of freshness to the dish. You definitely need acid to balance out the sweetness of the other ingredients.
If you don’t want to use lemon juice, you could easily substitute in apple cider vinegar or maybe even a white balsamic. Instead of olive oil, try avocado oil. This would also be delicious when topped with some nuts for crunch. I think walnuts would pair well because they’re a natural match for apple and carrot, but use what you like.
I went just one step further in this Beet, Carrot & Apple Salad by drizzling some of raw, local honey from my bees into the mix. Of course, if you’re doing Whole30 or you wish to leave it out, that’s totally fine as well. The honey played really nicely off the lemon, but again, it’s your call.
This would be great served with my:
Easy Pan-Fried Lemon Chicken
Reverse-Seared Steak
Swiss Chard Salad
Braised Mustard Greens with Bacon
Rosemary Garlic Roasted Potatoes
Print
Beet, Carrot & Apple Salad Recipe
Author: Steph Gaudreau – Stupid Easy Paleo
Prep time:
15 mins
Total time:
15 mins
Serves: Serves 6+
Ingredients
2 large RAW beets (about 1 lb / 454 g), peeled and roughly chopped
2 large carrots (about 8 oz / 227 g), roughly chopped
2 granny smith apples, cored and roughly chopped*
Zest & juice of 2 lemons (~1/4 cup / 59 mL of juice)
1 tbsp (15 mL) mild-tasting olive oil
¾ tsp sea salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ tbsp raw honey, optional (omit for Whole30)
Instructions
Shred the beets, carrots, and apples. I used a food processor fitted with a shredding blade, but you can also use a box grater. Works the same, but it'll just take longer. Place the shredded beets, carrots, and apples into a very large bowl.
Zest the lemons, and add it to the bowl. I used a microplane. Cut the lemons open and squeeze out the juice into the bowl. Be sure you don't put any seeds into the salad.
Add the olive oil, salt, pepper, and honey (optional).
Toss the salad well until everything is evenly combined. I use my hands because they're the best tool for the job.
Keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
*Any kind of apples will work. They don't have to be granny smith.
Equipment:
Food processor or box grater
Microplane grater
Very large bowl
Cutting board
Chef's knife
3.4.3177
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