Raw shaved heirloom carrots, radishes and beets make a colorful salad atop a smear of Tahini dressing.
Smear salad plates with tahini dressing, as thick or thin as you like. Toss thinly shaved raw golden beets, heirloom carrots and radishes with leafy greens, olive oil and lemon juice, spoon them over the tahini dressing, sprinkle with dates and sit down to a truly unique, fresh, crisp and colorful salad. Of course everyone will scrape their plate clean.
When I saw this recipe in Cooking Light Magazine, I dropped everything and dashed to Whole Foods to buy heirloom carrots, golden beets and breakfast radishes. If you have a very thin slicing blade (like 1/8 inch) on your mandoline, that works. If not, use a vegetable peeler. My favorite is an Oxo. The recipe serves 4, but that night for dinner Karl and I devoured it. (OK I devoured three fourths of it. Karl isn't big on greens.)
If you've never tasted raw beets, you are in for a surprise. Their sweetness is even more pronounced than when they are cooked. And their prep is much quicker. Beets are a great source of minerals as well as having a potential connection to improving cardiovascular health. So shave them often and add them to your salads and sandwiches.
SHAVED VEGGIE SALAD WITH TAHINI & DATES
2 small heirloom carrots, peeled
1 small golden beet, trimmed and peeled
3 small French Breakfast or regular radishes
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 small garlic clove, grated
1 tablespoon plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
1 tablespoon pus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
5 tablespoons warm water
5 oz. 50/50 spring mix with spinach, or 4 cups desired greens
1/2 teaspoon sumac, optional
8 pitted Medjool dates, coarsely chopped
1. To shave veggies: Using a vegetable peeler or a mandolin with a 1/8 inch thick blade, shave carrots, beet and radishes lengthwise into very thin slices. Submerge slices in a large bowl of ice water for 10 minutes. Drain.
If not using immediately, put into a bowl and refrigerate covered for up to 6 hours.
2. Meanwhile, make tahini smear: In a small bowl, whisk together tahini, lemon zest, garlic, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
To prepare Ahead: Dressing may be refrigerated overnight.
3. When ready to serve: Drain veggies well, pat them dry and put them into a salad bowl.
Add greens. Toss with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Sprinkle with sumac, if using. Smear tahini on each of 4 salad plates. Pile salad on tahini, top with dates and season with salt and pepper, if desired.
Makes 4 servings.
