Raw Beets Salad with Roasted Sunflower Seeds

One of my favorite foods growing up was mom’s raw beets salad. It was super simple and absolutely delicious! She simply grated the beets, tossed them in a red wine vinaigrette and served then to us chilled as an appetizer or a simple and nutritious snack. It remains a favorite dish of mine to this day 🙂

Raw beets are a a wonderful food rich in antioxidants, something I did not know growing up but appreciate today. Their gorgeous color comes from betalain, a food pigment that has been shown to provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and detoxification support.  In recent studies betalain has also been shown to be effective in slowing down the growth of certain tumors, including those in breast cancer, and has inspired further study of this delicious food.

When selecting  your beets make sure they are firm with no soft spots.  And make sure to keep your beet greens. They are loaded with healthy nutrients and delicious tossed in a green salad or blended into a fresh juice with other lovely greens.

Although I seldom peel my vegetables, I do peel my beets as the skin is a little tough and holds on to little specs of dirt no matter how much I scrub.  Prepare them as you prefer. There is no right or wrong way, just personal preference.

This recipe is a variation of mom’s original one. I added some pan roasted sunflower seeds for a little crunch and fresh parsley because I love it so much!  And doesn’t it look beautiful?

You can enjoy this salad as soon as it is prepared or serve it chilled. Either way you’re sure to love it.

Enjoy!

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5 from 3 votes

Raw Beets Salad with Roasted Sunflower Seeds

A simple and nutritious salad, bursting with flavor and rich in anti-oxidant. Pan roasted sunflower seeds add a fun crunch to this beautiful salad.

Course Salad

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 2 minutes

Total Time 7 minutes

Servings 4

Author Valerie Remy-Milora

Ingredients

For the Salad

• 2 large raw beets peeled
• 1 cup fresh parsley
• 1/4 raw sunflower seeds
• red wine vinaigrette

For the Dressing

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• fresh ground salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Making the dressing

• place mustard, vinegar and oil in a mason jar, add fresh ground salt and pepper. Seal tightly and shake until well blended.
• For a creamier dressing use a blender and blend all ingredients for a few seconds.

Making the salad

• Grate the beets using a food processor fitted with a grating blade, a mandoline or hand grater.
• Place grated beets in a bowl.
• Chop parsley and add to beets
• Drizzle vinaigrette over beets and parsley and toss until fully coated.
• Heat skillet on medium high. Add raw sunflower seeds and roast for about two minutes, stirring frequently making sure seeds do not burn.
• Toss warm sunflower seeds on salad just before serving.