Beet and Arugula Salad

You can eat raw beets? You sure can! The trick is to julienne them in your recipes.

Beet and Arugula Salad

Raw beets? You can eat raw beets? You sure can! The trick is to julienne them – so you’ll need a mandolin for this one – if not grating works, not quite so pretty, but it works.

Makes – approx 3 cups (750 mL)

One serving = ¾ cup (180 mL)

2 cups (500 mL) baby arugula, chopped

2 tbsp (30 mL) diced red onion

2 tbsp (30 mL) finely chopped fresh mint

1 medium-large beet, peeled and julienned or grated = approx 1 cup (250 mL)

1 Cara Cara orange, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces – see sidebar

Dressing:

1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp (15 mL) extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp (15 mL) Ribena – see sidebar

1.    In a large bowl toss together: arugula, red onion, and mint. Gently toss in beets.

2.    For the Dressing: In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice, oil, and Ribena  

3.    Pour over salad and gently toss. Add oranges and gently toss. Serve.

Cara Cara oranges are a type of navel orange with a dark pink to almost red interior.  They are sweet and not only add delicious to this salad but a gorgeous colour as well. Found in larger grocery stores or higher end fruit markets. Can’t find a Cara Cara? Then use a regular navel orange.

Ribena is a black currant concentrate that is popular in the UK. Very sweet it adds a huge hit of flavour to salad dressings. If you are worried about how many Carbs you’re eating – reduce the Ribena to 1 tsp (5 mL) and the change in the per serving nutrient breakdown = 82 calories and 13 g Carbs.

Nutrient Breakdown:

Per ¾ cup (180 mL) serving = 90 calories, 3.6 g total fat, .5 sat fat, 0 trans fat, 17 g carbs, 12 g sugars, 3.3 fibre, 2 g protein

Courtesy Mairlyn Smith – http://mairlynsmith.com