[Recipe] Beet salad with leeks and walnut

The beet salad was adapted from the Jerusalem Cookbook . The salad is a showstopper with key ingredients including walnuts, pomegranates, and beets, which are typically seen in Georgian Cuisine, which is influenced by Russian, Persian and Turkish cultures.

The cookbook does not ask readers to grill the leeks or toast the walnuts, but I did. The grilled veggies add more flavour to the final dish. I did not have peanut oil handy, but do add half a teaspoon if you do instead of walnut oil. I used walnut oil and made my own tamarind water. I bought the tamarind at a local Chinese grocery store.

Make sure to lightly toss the salad right before serving to minimize the colour of the beets bleeding into the leeks.

Beet salad with leeks and walnut

Course Salad

Cuisine Georgian

Servings 6 people

Author Mary Tang

Ingredients

5 medium beets
2 medium leeks cut into 4-inch segments
6 cups water
1 1/2 cups of arugula
1/4 cup of pomegranate seeds
1/4 cup of feta cheese
1 cup of chopped walnuts
2 tsp Vegetable oil Add more as needed
A pinch of salt more as needed
A handful of mint- rough chop

Dressing

1 tbsp tamarind
2 tbsp hot water
4 cloves of garlic
1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp of chili flakes
1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
1 tsp 1 tsp of walnut oil
1 tsp 1 tsp of salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Wrap the beets individually in tin foil and roast them for 1 hour.
Once cooled, peel the beets and slice them 1/2 inch thick.
Let a pot of water come to a boil. Add salt and the leeks. Simmer until they are just cooked. Remove from the liquid. When cooled, put the leeks on a grill and quickly cook them for some colour.
In a heated pan, add oil. Toast the walnuts and sprinkle salt all over the nuts.
For the tamarind water, mix the tamarind with the hot water and mix. Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes and pour the mixture through a small fine mesh strainer.
In a bowl, add all the ingredients of the dressing together, including the tamarind water and mix well.
To assemble the salad, carefully add the ingredients in layers. Topp the salad with walnuts, pomegranate seeds, feta and mint.
Add the dressing and lightly toss.