Beet Salad with Salted Garlic Labneh, Pistachios and Mint
This stunning salad will surprise you—jewel-colored ruby beets, chartreuse pistachios and fresh mint are juxtaposed over a smear of creamy white labneh, creating a striking tableau of color on your plate. This is a dish you are meant to eat with both your eyes and bocca.
Inspired by healthy Mediterranean fare, the recipe uses a mixture of roasted fresh red beets for their vibrant ruby color and Melissa’s prepared steamed red beets for their earthy, sweet flavor, maximizing the best qualities of this underutilized tuber. Layered over thick garlic, salted labneh, and topped with lightly- toasted, chopped pistachios and two forms of mint (fresh and dried), this salad is filling and can be served as a main. Seasoned with a sweet and tart Balsamic and Honey Vinaigrette and a squeeze of bracing fresh lime right before serving, this salad’s interplay of tastes focuses your attention on the flawless balance of its salty-sweet flavor profile. This dish is best served at room temperature, which allows all the flavors to develop and complement each other.
Melissa’s prepared, steamed red beets are a fantastic product to keep in the fridge: they are easy to use, and save time since all the prep work is done for you. While pairing the different textures of freshly roasted beets and prepared steamed beets creates interest, you can sub-in three packages of steamed beets with great results. To change things up, try using yellow or candy cane beets.
Beet Salad with Salted Garlic Labneh Pistachios and Mint
Serves: 2 as a main; 4 as a side
Ingredients
3 large red beets, trimmed
1 package Melissa’s Organic Steamed Red Beets
1 cup labneh
1 medium garlic clove, peeled
1 juicy ripe lime, juice and zest
½ teaspoon kosher flake salt
1 tablespoon dried mint
1 tablespoon pistachio oil
1 tablespoon light honey
2 sprigs fresh mint
3 large red beets, trimmed
1 package Melissa’s Organic Steamed Red Beets
1 cup labneh
1 medium garlic clove, peeled
1 juicy ripe lime, juice and zest
½ teaspoon kosher flake salt
1 tablespoon dried mint
1 tablespoon pistachio oil
1 tablespoon light honey
2 sprigs fresh mint
Preparation
Preheat toaster oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the leafy stems off beets, leaving about 1-inch on top. Rinse beets and place each beet on a piece of foil, drizzle a teaspoon of oil over each beet, then sprinkle with a pinch of flake salt and close foil package. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and open foil packages to vent steam and allow to cool till easy to handle. Peel the skin off and set aside.
Place pistachios on a baking sheet and toast in the remaining heat in the toaster oven for at least 4 minutes—should be slightly toasty but still retaining a vibrant green color. Cool and roughly chop nuts.
Place labneh in a medium bowl. Micro-plane garlic over the labneh and stir. Add half a lime and zest, then stir again. Let the mixture sit for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to develop. Prepare the vinaigrette.
Balsamic Pistachio and Honey Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons pistachio oil
1 tablespoon good-quality, aged balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon light-colored honey (I recommend Acacia honey)
¼ teaspoon kosher flake salt
Preparation
Place all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until an emulsion develops, then set aside.
Plating
Using a large spoon, take half of the garlic-salted Labneh and swirl on the plate with the back of a large serving spoon—dust about 1 teaspoon dried mint on each plate.
Put on disposable gloves to prevent your hands from being stained red while working with the red beets. Peel the skin off the roasted beets by rubbing it off with your fingers. Cut beets in half, then into quarters and place on a plate. Open Melissa’s steamed beets and cut each mini beet into quarters, then place on a separate plate.
Top labneh and mint with a mixture of roasted and steamed beets. Sprinkle with pistachios and a chiffonade of fresh mint.
Drizzle 1½ tablespoons vinaigrette over each salad. Squeeze remaining half lime over both plates and serve at room temperature.
