Beetroot and Feta Salad
If you know me in real life (or follow me on instagram, which is mostly the same thing), you’ll know that my husband is vegan. He went vegan for health reasons, and it cleared up all of his health issues. It’s kinda crazy how well it worked for him, and I’m so proud of him for doing it and sticking with it. At first, I was intimidated on how to come up with recipes that the whole family could enjoy with only a few modifications for him. However, we’re about 6 months into doing it, and it’s getting easier everyday. To cook something that the whole family can enjoy (vegan and non-vegans alike), I basically make something vegan as a base for him. Then, I add extra protein or dairy products for me and the kids. If you’re wondering, my husband gets plenty of protein eating beans, snacking on nuts and drinking smoothies fortified with protein, like my protein smoothies recipes. This beetroot and feta salad is our favorite meal that feeds everyone easily. My husband has it without the feta, and instead, enjoys the salty bite from the pistachios. I just serve the feta in a small bowl at the table to add. For the kids, they will eat this salad deconstructed. I pile the beets in one corner of their plate, because my kids have always loved beets. I started them on beet applesauce when they were very young (a recipe for cherry beet puree is in my baby food ebook), and they’ve always loved the slightly earthy taste of beets. Then, I sprinkle chopped pistachios over some plain yogurt on their plate. They will try a small scoop of barley with the dressing on it, too. Honestly, my kids won’t eat arugula (also called rocket), which I can completely understand because the taste can be complex for little kids’ palates. However, I put one piece of arugula on their plate to get them used to the idea of it, but as of now, they haven’t touched it. It’s totally fine, they will grow used to seeing greens on their plates, and hopefully try it one day.
But as for me, who mostly eats everything, I love a big bowl of this beetroot feta salad piled high with all of the ingredients. It reminds me of my nectarine salad that has so many delicious components. This salad has everything I love in it. To make it, I put the arugula at the bottom of a serving bowl. Then, I add the scoop of cooked barley. The barley just makes this salad heartier, plus I love the chewy grains in a salad. The diced beets go on top, followed by the crumbled feta and chopped pistachios. Drizzle the creamy honey mustard vinaigrette on top, and toss everything together. Just note that once you toss the beets, their hot pink color will begin to stain the whole salad pink. For a potluck or dinner party, I like to just lay them on top and stir them in right before serving.
Ingredients
beets: For this recipe, you need 2 medium beets that are about 3-4 inches in diameter each. They can be any color of beet. vegetable broth arugula: Also known as rocket, this peppery spicy little green comes bagged on its own or in a salad mix. feta cheese pistachios: Shelled, salted pistachios that are either whole or chopped are great for this salad. Other nuts that are great here: sunflower seeds or walnuts. Dijon mustard honey mayonnaise: We use vegan mayonnaise in our house, but the mayo made with olive oil is really great here, too. lemon juice salt and pepper
How to make beetroot and feta salad:
Can you use canned beets?
If you don’t want to go through the hassle of cooking beets from scratch, you can use canned beets or even pickled beets, if that sounds delicious to you.
What goes with beetroot and feta salad?
I love to follow my instructions for how to roast a whole chicken and serve that alongside this salad for a very fancy meal for guests.
What can you add to beetroot salad?
I think we’ve added a lot here: chopped pistachios, leaves of arugula, and a scoop of barley, but I supposed you could also add shredded chicken to make this more of a meal. Other yummy meals:
Orzo Pasta Salad with Feta Baby Food with Barley Spicy Turkey Burgers with Creamy Feta Sauce
- Finally, make the dressing: in a small bowl, whisk together the Dijon, honey, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper. PHOTO3. In a salad serving bowl, toss together the arugula, feta, pistachios, and barley. Toss to combine very well. 7. Pour almost all of the dressing on the salad mix, and toss to combine. Add a pinch of salt while tossing.8. Finally, add the cooked beets to the top of the salad, and drizzle the remaining dressing on top. I like to serve the salad like this because once you toss the beets, the whole salad turns pink. beets: For this recipe, you need 2 medium beets that are about 3-4 inches in diameter each. They can be any color of beet.arugula: Also known as rocket, this peppery spicy little green comes bagged on its own or in a salad mix.pistachios: Shelled, salted pistachios that are either whole or chopped are great for this salad. You could also use walnuts or sunflower seeds.mayonnaise: We use vegan mayonnaise in our house, but the mayo made with olive oil is really great here, too.
