This recipe was inspired by Chef Michael Solomonov of Zahav out of Philadelphia. I first had this salad as part of an amazing meal that was delivered to a friends house and served to me at an awesome dinner, it was this braised Lamb with a ton of other Israeli / Middle Eastern salads all served along the side, truly my favorite way to eat! The salad stood out among all the others for its bright flavors (even after having been frozen and served thawed)… It was earthy, floral, fresh and complimented all the other flavors of the dinner amazingly. I have made it since countless times improving the recipe each time I have made it, and now I have settled on this final version as the peak of what it should be, its complimented brunches, lunches, and dinners alike… It seems to go with everything I have served it with, from Middle Eastern, to French, Mexican and even Italian… So without further ado…
Beet Tahina Salad
8
servings30
minutes1
hour185
kcalIngredients
4 Large Beets or 8 Medium beets (or the equivalent in pre-roasted beets)
1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil Divided
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 cup Tahina sauce (May need to use more if you want creamier)
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
2oz Fresh Dill Minced (a small package)… some reserved for topping
1oz Fresh Mint Minced (half a small package)… some reserved for topping
(If you don’t have or don’t want to use Dill or Mint, you can substitute Basil and it comes out awesome, just use about 3oz of Basil in total)
Directions
- Preheat an oven to 400° (If using precooked beets, you can skip this step and the next step and continue the recipe from step 3.)
- Scrub your beets clean, then dry with a kitchen towel or paper towel, once dry rub some of the 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil all over each of the beets then wrap tightly with aluminum foil and place on a cookie sheet in the preheated oven and roast for 1 hour or until soft (depending on medium or large it could be a little shorter or longer, check starting at 45 minutes)
- Once the beets are soft or tender (ya know, cooked) take out of the oven, open the foil and let cool so they can be easily handled. (
- If using a food processor your life will be much much easier, if not its a little mini workout to build up your appetite. Either way grate the beets using a food processor or a box grater into a bowl then drain any liquid that comes out of the beets (this is awesome to drink!).
- Once the beets are drained add the 1/3 cup olive oil and remaining ingredients to an empty bowl where you mix very well then add this to the bowl of beets and stir to combine, let the beets sit for a few minutes and taste and adjust with additional salt and pepper if needed.
