Fresh tangy pickled beet on top of pea shoots, dressed with lemon vinaigrette, and garnished with Feta cheese.
Course Brunch, Salad
Cuisine American, Mediterranean
Keyword beets, feta, lemon, pea shoots, pickled, salad, vinaigrette
Budget Frugal
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 40 minutesminutes
Chilling time 2 hourshours
Total Time 2 hourshours55 minutesminutes
Servings 4
Calories 318kcal
Equipment
Heavy bottomed pot
Serving platter
Ingredients
5-6medium-sized beets
For the picking liquid:
1cupgolden balsamic vinegar
½cupwater
½cupsugar
¼teaspoonpickling spice
¼teaspoonmustard seeds
Seeds from 1 cardamom pod
¾teaspoonwhole green or black peppercorns
For the lemon vinaigrette:
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
¼teaspoonkosher salt
½teaspooncrushed black pepper
¼teaspooncrushed red pepper
¼cupextra virginlight tasting olive oil
For the salad:
Salad greens of your choice
Feta cheesecrumbled, amount to taste
Instructions
If you are using red beets and yellow beets and you want to retain their colors, cook and pickle the beets separately.
Cut the tops and roots off the beets and scrub to remove all dirt. Place the beets in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil then lower the temperature to medium. Cook the beets until a sharp knife can easily inserted into the middle. Remove from heat, pour off water. Rinse the beets under cold water until cool enough to handle. The peels should slide off easily under cold, running water. Slide, dice, or quarter the beets as desired.
For the pickling liquid:
Remove the cardamom seeds from the pod by breaking the pod open. Remove the seeds and discard the pod. While the beets are cooking, add all the pickling ingredients to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook an additional 10 minutes. Remove from heat and pour through a strainer, collecting the liquid and discarding the solids.
Pour the hot pickling liquid over the beets. Allow to cool to room temperature then refrigerate in the liquid until ready to use. Will keep for several days in the refrigerator.
To assemble the salad add your greens to a plate, top with beets, dressing and crumbled Feta cheese.
Notes
The nutritional values includes the pickling liquid for the beets, which are not consumed in the recipe except for what is absorbed by the beets.Prep time and cooking/chilling times dependent on what size beets you use.