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Winter Raw Beet Salad #KitchenMatrixCookingProject

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Today we're moving ahead with our year-long project that I'm calling the Kitchen Matrix Project, after Mark Bittman's Kitchen Matrix cookbook. You can read about it: here. I'm very excited about the dishes and the bloggers who are joining me.

This week, I picked 'Raw Beets + 3 Ways' for the group which means we could make raw beets with sherry vinaigrette, raw beets with creamy dill dressing, and borscht salad...along with any variations or adaptations that we needed or wanted.


While all were intriguing - and I will make all of them - I opted to try Mark Bittman's Raw Beets with Sherry Vinaigrette. Here's what the crew is sharing this week. I added shaved fennel and supremed oranges for a larger, dinner-sized salad. Also, since Jake and I are currently staying away from sugar, I couldn't use the prepared mustard in our fridge. I swapped it out for ground mustard. Yum!



Ingredients

  • 1 pound organic, raw beets
  • 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and shaved
  • 2 organic oranges, supremed
  • 1 minced shallot
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
  • 2 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 Tablespoon sherry vinegar
  • chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley and a little bit of lavender) + more for garnish

Procedure

Peel and grate the beets. Place them in a large mixing bowl. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, sherry vinegar, ground mustard, and fresh herbs.


To serve layer shaved fennel and supremed oranges on a plate. Spoon the beet salad on top of the oranges. Garnish with another sprig of fresh herbs.


Impressions
Does this tell you what we thought? I refrained from licking the plate...just barely. I love the wintery flavors of fennel, orange, and beets. And the dressing was so light and crisp. We will definitely be making this again soon.
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