Recently I discovered a small winter farmers’ market located at a local garden store. The farmers’ market consists of only about ten booths and occurs every Saturday. There is one booth that sells decadent baked goods such as chocolate croissants and lemon tarts. Another booth sells delicious and fresh homemade pasta including bourbon lobster stuffed ravioli and sriracha spaghetti. One of my favorite booths sells all kinds of interesting and exotic beans that are grown right here in New England. The last few booths are fresh produce from local farms. The only problem with living in New England is the limited fresh produce in the winter. Most of what grows in the winter are root vegetables such as radishes, carrots, beets, and potatoes. In fact, that is really all you can get currently from those two stands. But soon that will change with the up and coming spring, which I cannot wait for!
The limited produce may be seen as a blessing in disguise to some who love to eat hearty soups and stews made from root vegetables. I am not much of a stew person but I have made more of a conscious effort since I discovered this small winter farmers’ market to eat local. I have gone almost every week since. Lately, it has gotten a little warmer out, and a new stand popped up at the farmers market: one that sells microgreens! This booth sells all sorts of tiny vibrant green sprouts. Microgreens are edible young greens that are younger than baby greens but older than sprouts (though, they look very similar). They contain all sorts of nutrients and are very good for you. I picked up some daikon radish microgreens, kale microgreens, and pak choi microgreens last week, along with some beets from the other stand. I decided to put the beets together with the microgreens in a delicious salad with a grapefruit vinaigrette. This nutrient powerhouse of a salad is very delicious and great for a light lunch. The grapefruit vinaigrette recipe is from Aggie’s Kitchen, which you can find here. Here is the full recipe for the salad and vinaigrette:
Beet and Microgreen Salad with Grapefruit Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 2-3 medium sized beets
- 1 cup chopped microgreens of your choice
- 1/4 cup fresh grapefruit juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- Pinch of salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Wash beets
- Wrap beets loosely in tin foil
- Place wrapped beets on a baking sheet to catch any juices that may drip
- Roast beets for 50-60 minutes
- Meanwhile, chop the microgreens and place them in a bowl
- Take another bowl and whisk together the grapefruit juice, olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper
- Place vinaigrette aside until beets are done
- Take the beets out when finished and let them cool for a few minutes
- Take the beets out of the tin foil and peel the skins off
- Slice the beets into bite sized pieces and place into the bowl with the microgreens
- Drizzle the vinaigrette over the beets and microgreens
- Mix until beets and microgreens are well-coated
- Place salad onto a plate
- Serve and enjoy!
Queen of My Kitchen
What a gorgeous salad and I love the idea of a vinaigrette made with grapefruit juice. Yummy and healthy!
leangreennutritionfiend
Thank you Mona! The grapefruit vinaigrette is really good and perfect for a spring salad! See you soon 🙂