Ukraine/Russia: Beetroot salad
So. This is one of my favourite salads that beautifully combines the sweet and savoury notes and is super quick and easy to throw together.
Well… Full disclosure - that highly depends on how you approach the situation. What I mean by that is in this recipe I decided to start from the very scratch and use raw beets and then subsequently spend a load of time baking them. However, you can definitely start with some of the already cooked (but not flavoured!) beets you can get from the supermarket. Yes, you know the ones.
As much as I’d like to pretend I have the ultimate moral high ground on this for properly roasting the beets, the realistically is that I’ve definitely gone the supermarket speed route many times and have to say that it works very well…
Mind you - if you do go the inferno, supermarket beet route, make sure you press out access moisture that they leave the beets in. But if you have time - definitely roast.
Right. Enough beetroot philosophy. On to the actual recipe!
Things you will need!
*To make about 2 servings
Beetroots - if they’re that size - about that many
Wallnuts - 100g
Prunes - about the same amount as the nuts
Garlic - 2 cloves
Mayo - 1-2 tablespoons (not pictured, I know)
Salt and Pepper - to your heart’s content
Dill - only if you want to garnish it like a true slav
TOOLS note:
For this recipe you’ll need a grater, one with several types of grating as you’ll need to have one of the larger styles of holes. You can also use a garlic crusher for this, but not necessary
Prepare the beets!
Finally, the topic everyone was waiting for with bated breath!
Time to prep your beets the superior, baking them way.
Wash and de-stem your vegetables, and then peel them. Grease your baking pan and put them in there. Nothing else needed - pop these in a pre-heated oven at about 180°C (350°F).
Depending on the size, it will probably take them about 40 minutes to bake. Just check on them after 30 minutes and see how much softer they got. They should be soft to the touch, but not falling apart.
Grate the beets!
Once your beets are ready, take them out and leave to cool until they’re at about room temperature. Then start to grate all of them using one of the larger holes that you’ll have on your standard four-sided grater.
Chop everything else
Once you’ve grated all of your beets, its time to cop the rest of your ingredients.
Prunes: Most prunes will come with stones in them, so just remove these and cut the prunes up in about 4 pieces each.
Walnuts: Image shows how I prefer to dice mine, but you can go a bit larger. It is all a matter of preference
Garlic: For this, if you have it, you can use a garlic crusher. The point here is that the finer and more delicate the pieces the better. However, I generally just chop the garlic super-finely and then crush it with the side of my knife. Long story short - make sure the pieces are very fine.
Add in the mayo and give the whole thing a generous mix. Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with dill, because it is an Eastern European recipe.
Enjoy!
I personally prefer to give this salad a bit of time for the flavours to blend together in the fridge, but it is good to serve straight away, too.