My friend Ramona taught me this recipe in the office break room over lunch back when I had a “job.” She blew my mind when she dropped that the gorgeous red slaw she was eating was made from raw beets. It was like someone told me that unicorns were real, and one was coming to my cubicle to take me away from my stapler to join a rock band and tour the world. Raw beets? Uh, can you even eat those?
The answer is yes, you can. And they are absolutely delicious. They pack the flavor of beets, but with less sweetness and more crunch. This slaw, made with giant organic golden beets I scored for $2 at the farmer’s market (hence the cheerful yellow instead of the deep beet red) and jam-packed with mint and cilantro, is a flavorful and incredibly healthy leaf-less salad.
Serve it as a raw/vegan side, or augment it with diced feta or goat cheese rounds as a main course. And if you have spinach or lettuce on hand, you can always chop that and add it to the mix, though be warned: it will wilt quickly.
To your health!
Anna
Raw Golden Beet Salad with Carrots, Cilantro and Mint
| View Show | Create Your Own
For slaw:
- 2 raw beets, peeled and coarsely grated
- 2 carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1/3 cup mint, minced
- 1 small cucumber, seeded
- avocado
For dressing:
- 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 2 tsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. soy sauce (for gluten-free soy sauce, look for the Tamari brand)
- salt and pepper
Coarsely grate beets and carrots into one bowl. Add remaining ingredients, toss, and serve. Top with sliced avocado.
Add feta or goat cheese, and garnish with crusty bread if you like.
It’s rare that super healthy food can taste and look so good, and this is seriously a ‘go back for seconds’ salad… it was so great that I was left wondering, ‘What’s the catch?’, but there wasn’t one!