Wednesday, January 13, 2016

We're Getting Healthy at Blogger CLUE Society

This month's theme for our Blogger CLUE Society is Eat Healthy which is perfect because I, like many of you, always have that as one of my goals each year.


This month I was assigned Lisa of Authentic Suburban Gourmet.  Lisa is a self professed foodie who is obsessed with cooking shows, farmer's markets, food and entertaining magazines and, of course, cooking.  She and I are foodie soulmates.  

Lisa is a prime example of the type of people that we have in our Blogger CLUE Society.  What type is that? you ask.  The type that knows their way around the kitchen. The type that recognizes great flavor profiles.  The type that you can grab one of their recipes and just know that it is going to be good enough for guests.

And that is exactly what I did.  I was creating my Christmas Menu and had decided on my first course and soup.  I needed a salad so I went to Authentic Suburban Gourmet and did a search for salads using her handy, dandy search button on the left side of her blog.  There were many great salads but the one that caught my eye and that I made and served was a lovely winter salad containing roasted beets, avocado and grapefruit topped with a lovely maple syrup vinaigrette.


I had so much faith in this salad that I made and served it for Christmas Dinner without making it ahead of time to try.  I did try it as I was assembling the salads to have ready to serve at dinner time and it was just as delicious as I knew it would be.  They are a beautiful presentation and can be made ahead of time and placed in the refrigerator to await service.  All you need to do is drizzle on the dressing before placing them at each place setting.  My guests were impressed and yours will be as well.  


The flavor profile is perfect with the earthiness of the beets, the spice of the arugula, the smoothness of the avocado and the brightness of the grapefruit. The pine nuts add a bit of texture and the maple vinaigrette a touch of sweetness.  

Lisa's recipe served 4.  I was preparing dinner for 20 so I increased the amounts accordingly.  I am sharing the recipe as written by Lisa omitting the microgreens that I did not include in my presentation.  Just rest assured that you can double, triple or increase ingredients as necessary to suit your needs.  I did make individual salads for my guests but you could make a large layered salad and serve it family style by layering the ingredients in a glass bowl and still have a beautiful and elegant presentation.

Winter Salad of Roasted Beets, Avocado and Grapefruit
very slightly adapted from  Lisa of Authentic Suburban Gourmet

4 large beets, roasted, peeled and diced
1 1/2 c. grapefruit sections, diced
2 avocados, diced
2 c. baby arugula
1/2 c. pine nuts
2 T. Grapefruit juice
2 T. Maple Syrup
1/4 t. cumin
1 T. olive oil
pinch of salt

Divide arugula onto 4 plates. Top with a 3" ring.  Add a layer of beets, avocado and grapefruit to the ring and then carefully remove the ring leaving the vegetables molded on top of the greens.  Sprinkle with pine nuts.

Combine the juice, syrup, olive oil, cumin and salt in a small jar and shake until incorporated. Drizzle over the molded salads before serving.  Print Recipe

Let's see what Healthy Recipes the others are sharing


24 comments:

  1. What an interesting flavor combination, I never would have dreamed of putting beets and grapefruit together.

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  2. I never would have thought to put these ingredients together, either, but now I want this salad! It looks delicious!!!

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  3. I love both grapefruit and beets so this would be my kind of salad. The husband, not so much. Now I know what I am making next time he's traveling! And it will be mine, mine, all mine.

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    1. And you will love it. My son, who proclaims to hate beets, gobbled this up.

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  4. The biggest compliment you can give this recipe is that you made it for a holiday dinner without testing it first. That's awesome. It looks amazing.

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    1. That is how much faith I have in my fellow bloggers in this group.

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  5. What a wonderful choice to share today! That salad is amazing.

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  6. Love this combination..the peppery arugula, the citrus, smooth avocado and my all time favorite, beets! Perfect.

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  7. Not only does this salad look divine, Wendy, but that dressing sounds amazing!

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  8. Like others before me have said, who would have thought of putting these together!

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  9. So glad that you loved this recipe! At first it sounds strange, but it really does work. I love citrus with beets and the avocado just rounds it out. Thank you for your kind words about my blog. Happy New Year to YOU!

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    1. Thanks Lisa, it was a wonderful salad and one I am sure to serve over and over again.

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  10. This looks gorgeous Wendy! And I love that you served individual stacked salads to your guests. That just makes it so much more special.

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    1. Yes, sometimes it is fun to have formal dinners where people are served instead of family style.

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  11. I love non-lettuce salads, and these flavors look like an awesome combination!

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  12. This salad looks phenomenal. I can't wait to try it when I can have citrus again (soft tissue grafting really sucks). I love the colors - so festive for the holidays.

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