Memorial Day Feast: Superfood Salad

This week, we asked the editors at EcoSalon to recommend their favorite recipes for a Memorial Day feast. Celebrate a long, warm-weather weekend with four green dishes that are easy to pack up for a picnic or bring to a barbecue.  

Recipe #3: Beet, Orange, and Spinach Superfood Salad

Here’s a gorgeous and tasty salad that’s packed with "superfoods" to keep your immune system in top form. Enjoy it for a light lunch or dinner or serve it to guests. It’s sure to inspire your palate.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 small-medium red beets, scrubbed, trimmed, and drizzled with a little olive oil
4 small handfuls of baby spinach
2 juicy navel or blood oranges
2 tablespoons juice from the oranges
2 tablespoons white wine or champagne vinegar
7 tablespoons mild vegetable oil
Salt & pepper to taste
Toasted walnuts for garnish
Avocado slices for garnish

Note: use organic, local ingredients when possible.

Directions:

 

Wrap the beets in heavy-duty foil and place in a preheated 400 degree oven until they are tender when pierced with a sharp knife (45 minutes to 1 hour).

Wash and dry the spinach leaves and place them in a large bowl. Cut the ends off the oranges, just so they can sit flat. With a sharp knife, following the curve of the fruit, remove all the peel and white pith. Then, holding the fruit in one hand over a bowl, slip the blade of a small paring knife between the segments, separating them into individual segments and releasing them from the white membrane. Catch the juice in the bowl. Place the segments in the bowl with the spinach.

Combine the reserved orange juice and vinegar in a small bowl. Slowly pour in the vegetable oil while whisking until the dressing is well blended. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

When the beets are cool enough to handle, slip their skins off with your fingertips and then cut them into quarters and then eighths. Add them to the bowl with the greens and oranges. Toss the salad with the desired amount of dressing. Adjust seasonings. Garnish each salad with toasted walnuts and avocado. Extra dressing can be refrigerated for up to one week.

--Vanessa Barrington / image by iStock/kiboka

This recipe originally appeared as part of EcoSalon's Sunday recipe series. Check out the full series here.