winter salad: beet, clementine, avocado

[rushthatspeaks]

Tonight I made a really, really, really good salad for dinner.

Then I noticed that it is vegan, gluten-free, and nightshade-free, as well as filling. I wasn't trying for any of that, but it's always nice to have more things I could cook for any of my possible houseguests.

This will serve two to three as a dinner and probably up to six as a small salad.

Ingredients:

about a pound and a half of beets, sans greens
one parsnip
four clementines
one ripe avocado
about three tablespoons olive oil
about two tablespoons coarse strong mustard
small handful roasted nuts (I used cashews)
salt

Scrub and dry the beets and the parsnip, but do not peel. Toss their outsides in about two tablespoons of olive oil and rub in a small handful of salt. Roast them.

The thing is, the internet has many, many primers on how to roast beets, and either beets hate me or the internet is wrong, because no matter the size of my beets-- and the ones I had tonight were about golf-ball-sized-- the damn things do not roast until it has been way, way, way longer than I would like it to be. I know it's not an oven problem, because it's been true for multiple ovens. I preheat. I've tried wrapping them in foil packets, I've tried parboiling them, I've tried just rolling them in oil and putting them on a cookie sheet, and the conclusion I have come to is that there is something about me and beets, because tonight I roasted eight golf-ball-sized beets and one parsnip in a 425F oven on a preheated cookie sheet for an hour and a half (note: this oven usually runs hot) and they were, when I took them out, just barely tender. It is anti-magical. So I am not going to tell you how to roast your beets and parsnip, because, demonstrably, I am not a person you should be listening to on this matter. Just roast them. For persons not me, I gather this process often takes c. forty-five minutes.

While the root vegetables are roasting, peel the clementines. Chop them into quarter-inch rounds horizontally, removing any pips and extraneous pith. Put the clementines into a colander or sieve over a bowl, adding any juice that came from the chopping, and toss with a small handful of salt. Let sit at least half an hour, stirring occasionally and pressing lightly against the sides of the colander.

Peel and dice the avocado. Put it into the bowl under the clementines and toss with the juice to keep it from going brown. Chop the nuts, and leave them separate.

When the vegetables are roasted, peel and end them, which should be very easy, and slice into even rounds.

Mix the avocado and clementine juice with the mustard and remaining olive oil. Being a little rough with it will help the creaminess of the dressing, depending on the ripeness of your avocado, but you do want some large chunks remaining. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Plating:

apportion the clementine pieces evenly among your plates. Top each pile of clementines with rounds of parsnip, then of beet. Drizzle with avocado dressing. Sprinkle lightly with nuts.

Comments

[kore]

....I hate beets, but this sounds amazing. Wow.

[sixbeforelunch]

This sounds amazing. Next time I have a decent hour+ to make dinner, I want to try it.

[axiom_of_stripe]

oooh, that sounds tasty! i think i will have to try that sometime. thanks!

[thistleingrey]

Sounds delicious! Thanks for posting about it.

[kate_nepveu]

. . . is nightshade a common feature in your usual meals?

[yhlee]

I had assumed this was a reference to tomatoes being all chummy with nightshade, but admittedly my botany is not the best.

This intrigues me and I don't think I've ever had a beet in my life.

[kate_nepveu]

See, I hadn't known that! I am informed.

[yhlee]

I spent a large amount of time in Korea reading guidebooks to poisonous/herbal-medicine-use/etc. plants...of North America or Europe. My attempts to practice identifying plants were, uh, pretty hilarious. =)

My mom can identify a lot of wild Korean plants, but my ability to remember Korean names for things is miserable.

[weirdquark]

Nightshades include tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and potatoes.

[kate_nepveu]

Today I learned! I thought maybe it was an in-joke. Thanks.

[thomasyan]

This is why in Pamela Dean's Juniper, Gentian, and Rosemary, when two neighboring families trade tomatoes and eggplants from their respective gardens, they call it their nightshade treaty :)

(I forget exactly which nightshades they are trading, but it was something like that.)

[rushthatspeaks]

I have a girlfriend-in-law with a severe nightshade sensitivity, which means no foods from that family. This is surprisingly difficult-- no potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, or peppers; also no okra, tomatillos, or huckleberry. And by no peppers I mean no paprika as well as none of the other pepper-based spices such as cayenne and all chili powders. (Black pepper, fortunately, is a completely different thing.) Said girlfriend-in-law is also a vegan, and I am allergic to onions. This set of restrictions eliminates, for instance, nine-tenths of commercial vegetable broth and bouillon, the very concept of eating at a significant number of restaurants, many spice mixes, a great many veggie burgers, anything which just lists as an ingredient 'spices'...

I enjoy making meals we are both going to eat, in that Iron Chef way, but I do try to keep building a stock of suitable recipes, especially ones where the absences aren't noticeable. If I panic, we can always go out for Japanese, but advance preparation helps a lot.

[kate_nepveu]

Sympathies. For a while I was eating no dairy or soy, and also limiting common acid reflux triggers, so yeah, the eating out thing was definitely tough . . .

And now I know that nightshade refers to more than a poisonous plant.

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

As ever, you're an inspired cook--that sounds absolutely delicious. If you did it as a side dish, what would you serve with it?

Nine

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

If I weren't caring about calories at all I'd serve it on the side of a Reuben sandwich. In a less insane mood, it would be a nice side for a nice simple steak. Don't know what I'd do for a vegetarian main dish, probably something tofu-related-- the keys would be to have something not remotely sweet and texturally different.

[tilivenn.livejournal.com]

I am a huge fan of the Reuben. I very much like that (admittedly kind of crazy) idea.

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

This sounds delicious! I may make this for the holiday party I am attending on Saturday. In fact, I definitely will. And I will let you know how the beets roast.

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

Took 90 minutes at 425, wrapped in foil.

Added pomegranate seeds, green onion and had to throw some key lime juice, ponzu and sesame oil on it (the first due to the clementines being kind of dry). Roasting some peppers as well to throw on it (I need to get them out of the fridge). So far, it is delicious and interesting

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Parsnips take at least an hour.

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

Good to know!

[negothick.livejournal.com]

Oh my darling, that salad does beat all!

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Heh. I have the feeling that beets may be an Alamein thing, like bread (when we were kids, we tried to make bread every now and then, and it never ever ever rose - until one day it just did, and after that it never ever ever failed to rise). The first time I roasted beets, I peeled 'em and chopped 'em into thumb-sized bits and roasted away. And roasted, and roasted, and...

Yeah. But I had my Alamein moment a year or two later, and now I just smear 'em in oil, wrap 'em in foil, stick 'em in at 400 for an hour and hey presto, every time.

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

That's good to hear, as it means that I have a chance at beeting the things into submission some day.

[thomasyan.livejournal.com]

Do you want your beets all shriveled up and tasting like candy? If so, peel and then cut them into pieces about 8mm thick, mix with oil and salt, and bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour, flipping halfway through. Coconut oil, while pricey, and add a really nice flavor. Cut thinner and bake for less time if you want them crispy.

Otherwise, I use Alton Brown's recipe, and think it does take around an hour or so for the beets to get soft -- but nowhere as sweet as the previous method. Brown also likes to pickle his beets after roasting them. Oh, but he uses onions when pickling. Nevermind.