Warm Salt-Baked Beet Salad with Popped Rice & Candied Grapefruit Zest
No beet goes to waste in this sweet salad that combines warm beets and candied grapefruit zest. Wild rice and chopped almonds add bite and pull the dish together.
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
Love beets? Check out this recipe!
Ingredients
- 3 large beets, plus 1 cup beet leaves (chopped if leaves are large), divided
- 3 to 4 cups coarse sea or kosher sea salt
- 3 tbsp basic vinaigrette (see recipe, at bottom), divided
- 1 red grapefruit
- 2 tbsp raw honey
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil, plus additional for greasing pan
- 1/4 cup wild rice
- 1 large onion, sliced into rings
- Fine sea salt, to taste
- 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
- 1/4 cup chopped toasted unsalted almonds
- 1 cup sunflower oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 clove garlic, crushed
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Place beets in a heavy roasting pan and cover with coarse sea salt. Roast for about 45 minutes. (NOTE: During baking, salt will form a crust around beets. To test for doneness, break a small piece of the crust away then insert a knife to see if it pierces beet easily.) Remove salt from beets.
- Transfer beets to a colander and rinse under cool water. Peel and rinse lightly again. Cut into wedges, place in a bowl and dress with 2 tbsp vinaigrette.
- Using a peeler, remove a piece of zest from grapefruit then julienne to yield 1 tbsp. Over a bowl to catch juices, peel and segment grapefruit. Measure 2 tbsp juice and set aside; reserve grapefruit segments.
- Prepare candied zest: In a small saucepan on high, combine zest with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil for 1 minute. Discard water; return zest to pan with fresh water. Repeat process until zest is no longer bitter (about four times). After draining the final time, combine zest with honey and grapefruit juice in saucepan and boil on medium-high until reduced by half. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan on high, heat 1 tbsp oil. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, until it pops, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to paper towels.
- In a lightly greased grill pan on high, grill onion rings until lightly charred on both sides. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add remaining 1 tbsp vinaigrette, beet leaves and fine salt and toss.
- Divide beet leaf mixture among plates. Top with roasted beets, grapefruit segments, avocado, almonds, candied zest and popped rice.
BASIC VINAIGRETTE
MAKES about 1 cup
INGREDIENTS:
- cup sunflower oil
- tbsp red wine vinegar
- tsp sea salt
- /2 clove garlic, crushed
INSTRUCTIONS:
- In a container with a tight-fitting lid, combine all ingredients. Seal container and shake vigorously. Immediately pour out desired amount of vinaigrette. Re-shake to combine between uses if it stands longer than 15 seconds. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size 1/4 of recipe
- Calories 367
- Carbohydrate Content 38 g
- Cholesterol Content 0 mg
- Fat Content 24 g
- Fiber Content 8 g
- Protein Content 6 g
- Saturated Fat Content 3 g
- Sodium Content 337 mg
- Sugar Content 16 g
- Monounsaturated Fat Content 0 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat Content 0 g