As we experience a mild heatwave, there’s just one thing you want to eat right now: salad. Salads were always regarded as uninteresting and tasteless, but salads demonstrate that adding a good dressing, some crunch, and fresh vegetables can make them appetizing and intriguing! Here are two salad recipes that are easy to make and also delicious.
The first is a Moroccan beetroot salad with mint and a dressing made with red onions, cumin, and blood orange. It is simple and delicious, perfect for the first warm rays of sunshine in spring. The second recipe is roasted beetroot, broccoli, and eggplant salad, which blends delightfully sweet roasted veggies with a zingy maple ginger vinaigrette to create a delicious vegan salad.
Why should you try these salads?
Roasting veggies enhances their inherent sweetness. The beets soften, while the broccoli has a lovely crispiness. This salad is full of vitamins! It offers a wide range of tastes and textures, from veggies to ginger, almonds, and seeds. The oven performs most of the work, leaving you with only a few minutes to prepare the beets and broccoli.
Moroccan Beetroot Salad With Mint And Dressing Recipe
You may make this salad with either beetroot or colored beets, such as pink, yellow, and orange. They are colorful and taste equally wonderful. Remove the green bits of the beetroot and, if necessary, put it in a glass of water for another use. Young leaves are ideal for smoothies and salads.
Ingredients needed:
- 2 stalks of fresh mint
- 1 small bunch of parsley
- 1 red onion
- Orange juice
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- optional 1/2 or 1 teaspoon chili sauce or Tabasco
- Salt
- Pepper
Method to make:
- Place the beetroot in a pot with water and simmer for 30-40 minutes.
- Then drain and allow to cool till hand warm.
- Peel the beets and chop them into cubes.
- Chop the mint and parsley for the dressing, then thinly slice the onion for garnish.
- Mix the orange juice, olive oil, cumin, chili sauce, salt, and pepper in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Allow it to rest for 10 minutes before adding the beets and seasoning again.
- If desired, add some feta cheese.
Roasted Beetroot, Broccoli, And Eggplant Salad Recipe
This dish may be adapted to include broccoli. It may or may not take a shorter cooking time. Change the ratio of beets and broccoli. If desired, increase one ingredient while decreasing another! Substitute rocket for lamb’s lettuce. You may leave out both or just one!
Ingredients:
- Broccoli
- Garlic
- Eggplants
- Parsely
- Seeds and nuts
- Ginger & olive oil
Method:
- Using a sharp knife, cut the beetroot’s tops and tails for the salad. Then, cut the beetroot in half and make 2-3 wedges from it. Place on a prepared baking pan, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with parsley, salt, and black pepper. Roast for fifteen minutes.
- Dice the broccoli into little florets such that they are comparable in size to the beets. Chop the eggplant similarly and place it all in the baking dish, drizzled with olive oil. Roast the veggies for 20-25 minutes, until the beetroot and eggplants are fork tender, in a preheated oven and later at 200C / 390F.
- Combine the dressing ingredients and whisk thoroughly. Add the almonds and pumpkin seeds or any seed of your choice to a dry skillet (no oil). Dry toast them for a few minutes over low heat, then set aside to add to the salad.
- Once the veggies have cooled, combine them with the dressing. Spoon the mixture onto a serving platter and garnish with nuts and seeds.
Serving suggestions
Peeling the skins from the beetroot is not required. In the last five minutes of baking, keep an eye on the beets and broccoli in the oven. You want the broccoli and eggplants to be gently browned but not burned.
If the beets need some additional time to roast, you can remove the roasted broccoli and continue cooking the beetroot. This should only be used if the beetroot has been sliced into bigger pieces. To dry toast the nuts and seeds for the salad, you can place them in a pan without oil and toast for a few minutes over low to medium heat to get a crunch.
Please be aware that nutritional information is provided as a courtesy. Serve these salads warm, with the beets and broccoli fresh out of the oven. Alternatively, let them cool before serving as a cold side salad.
Adding mozzarella or feta to this broccoli, beetroot, and eggplant salad would increase its heartiness and protein content. However, feta may not be appropriate for people following a reduced histamine diet. Adding grains like wild rice or quinoa would make this a major lunch dish rather than simply a side salad.