I’ve been looking more deeply into the fast casual models for a few Mediterranean-
style restaurants in the Northeast. I recently did some research into the Cava chain,
which provides a great selection of healthy bowls with premade add-on
ingredients. Every individual subcomponent of a meal that they offer tastes good
by itself, which is a strong foundation for any “build-your-own” restaurant-style
concept.
In the search for some side dishes that taste great and are also relatively healthy, I
created a simple dish that features cooked beets, pickled red onions, and fresh dill.
While raw beets take some time to cook, assembling the remaining salad
components is easy. Additionally, you can make the entire thing in advance and
serve it cold the following day.
Beet Salad with Dill, Red Onions, and Feta Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked (peeled beets, cut medium dice)
- ¼ red onion (very finely sliced)
- ¼ clove garlic (finely minced)
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 Tbsp fresh dill (finely minced)
- ½ cup Feta cheese (crumbled)
- Kosher salt & freshly-ground black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Before cooking the beets, scrub the outsides under cold water.
- Place the whole, unpeeled beets in a medium-sized soup pot and cover with one inch of warm water.
- Add a few Tablespoons of Kosher salt, and boil the beets until they are tender in the center, or roughly 90 minutes.
- When the beets are fully cooked, remove them from the boiling liquid.
- Place the cooked beets in a bowl to cool down at room temperature.
- When the beets are just cool enough to handle, use paper towels to remove the skins from each beet.
- Cut the peeled beets medium dice.
- When you are ready to assemble your dish, combine the sliced red onion and minced garlic with the zest and juice of one lemon.
- Toss the onion mixture together with the cooked beets, along with the finely-minced fresh dill.
- Add the crumbled Feta cheese, and season to taste with Kosher salt & freshly-ground black pepper.
- Serve in bowls, or as a topping for a salad.