Beets with Avocado

As food dislikes go, beets are a popular one, however, beet salad has inexplicably become marketable in trendy restaurants over the past few years.  I was motivated to create a beet recipe primarily because of it’s beautiful purple / magenta color.  In this recipe I wanted bright contrasting accompaniments with flavors that pair well with beets. The last challenge was to use ingredients common to Mexican cuisine.  So let’s get started.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 lb red beets (bulbs) cooked

½ lb carrots peeled and sliced ¼ inch circles

1 garlic diced

1 large avocado peeled

Juice of ½ a lemon or lime

3 teaspoons cilantro finely diced

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil +

Salt and pepper

Preparation

1. Cook beets in salted boiling water for 45 minutes or until tender.  Drain, cool, peel and slice in ¼ inch circles.  Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
2. Cook carrots in salted boiling water for 5 minutes or until crispy tender.  Drain, cool, pat dry and mix with garlic and 1 teaspoon of cilantro.  Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
3. Use a food blender to puree the avocado with 1 teaspoon of cilantro and lemon juice. With the blender running, pour in ¼ cup olive oil followed by with ¼ cup of water. If necessary, use additional water to thin the avocado so it spreads on the plate. Not too thin. Salt to taste.

Plating

On a salad plate, spread out 2-3 tablespoons of avocado puree. On the avocado, overlap 2 – 3 beet circles and place a portion of carrots, on the side. Drizzle olive oil and garnish with the remaining cilantro.

Notes

Once you peel cooked beets they bleed purple juice.  Cook them with skins on.  If you choose to mix beets with carrots, beet juice will stain the orange color away.  To preserve a crisp medley of colors keep carrots and beets separate until you plate them.

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