Beets me.

Do you like beets? Well, I HATE them. Then I made this Beet Salad for Rooster (he loves them). And now I’m sold. What a brilliant summer treat! Delicious, beautiful, simple and refreshing. Bonus: it’s awesome on a turkey sandwich (according to Rooster, natch). I found it in my How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman.

My modifications: Bittman has a variation in the book that substitutes carrots for half the beets, and I liked the sound of that. Also, do make the effort to use tarragon for the herb (or I've even used a tarragon vinegar). Use some parsley too, but the tarragon's flavor is perfect in this.

Equipment notes: I used the grater disc on my Cuisinart to shred the veggies rather than the blade. If you don't have a food processor, I'd almost say forget it. Shredding beets is messy, gory business.


Raw Beet Salad

Yield 4 servings
Time 10 minutes

1 pound beets (or .5lb each beets & carrots)
1 large shallot
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, or to taste
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or other good strong vinegar
Minced parsley, dill, chervil, rosemary or tarragon

1. Peel the beets and the shallot. Combine them in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, and pulse carefully until the beets are shredded; do not puree. (Or grate the beets by hand and mince the shallots; combine.) Scrape into a bowl.

2. Toss with the salt, pepper, mustard, oil and vinegar. Taste, and adjust seasoning. Toss in the herbs, and serve.