Beet, Carrot & Potato Salad

This is a super healthy recipe that works well as a side dish with meat and poultry, and comes particularly highly recommended with Chicken Kyiv, apparently.

I served it with a rolled cabbage dish given to me by a family member and it went perfectly. I'll share the rolled cabbage dish when we have cabbage in the box.

It’s also great on it’s own as a light lunch option.

Ingredients

1 pound beets (about 2 of the beets in the box this week)

1 pound carrots (2 – 3 large carrots)

1 pound potatoes (2 – 3 medium potatoes)

2 large dill pickles, diced

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 (8 ounce) can peas, or white beans like cannellini or navy beans drained

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Try not to get too hung up on the quantities with this recipe, or any salad recipe really. Just add ingredients in quantities that you have available. If you want to add an extra beet it will be a little different, but will still taste great. If you really love the flavor of dill pickles, then throw in another. With salads you can always add extra dressing on your plate if you feel it needs more flavor.

Cooking instructions

1. Place the beets into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over a high heat, then reduce to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 25 minutes. Then, add the carrots and potatoes.

As side note, this part can be tricky depending on what type of potatoes you are using. All the different varieties will cook at different rates, independently of the size of the actual potato. I used golden potatoes and it took about 15 minutes, but something like a russet will probably be much quicker. You want them to reach a consistency where it is easy to push a fork to the middle, but they haven't started to fall apart yet. I would check them after 10 minutes with a fork and then every 3 to 5 minutes after that. The beets and the carrots will do fine with the extra cooking time.

2. Turn off the heat and leave the pot on the stove to cool overnight. Or, if you want to finish up in one sitting, drain the pot over the sink and refill with cold water and ice. Leave it to stand for 10 minutes and the vegetables should be cool enough to handle.

2. The next day (or after 10 minutes if ice cooling), peel and dice the beets, carrots, and potatoes into small, even pieces.

3. Place the vegetables in a large bowl. Stir in the diced pickles, chopped onion, peas, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Garnish with parsley before serving.

Tips

Peeling the beets should be really easy. Just rub them with your fingers, or a piece of kitchen towel if they are slippery, and the skin will come right off.

Peeling the carrots and the potatoes is optional, depending on how lazy you're feeling and whether you like the extra flavor that leaving the peels provides. I never peel them myself.

Please let me know what you think and I always appreciate any suggestions for improvements.