Warm Beet and Spinach Salad

The New Year has inspired me to cook healthy meals and continue to expand my culinary creativeness. I had spinach left over from my Spinach and White Bean soup so a warm light salad sounded like the perfect recipe. This was my first time using fresh beets but cooking them was surprisingly easy. This recipe provides 4 servings and there is only 122 calories per serving! I found this recipe on the Eating Well website. One of my favorite resources for healthy recipes. The balsamic vinegar served as a delicious dressing on this salad and the beets were so filling. I was full after one serving and have left-overs for lunch tomorrow!

 

Recipe:

8 cups baby spinach

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup thinly sliced red onion

2 tomatoes, chopped

2 tablespoons sliced Kalamata olives

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups steamed beet wedges, or slices, ½ – 1 inch thick

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

To Prep & Steam Beets:

1. Trim greens and rood end; peel the skin with a vegetable peeler.
2. Cut beets into ½ – 1 inch thick wedged.
3. Place in steamer basket over 1 inch boiling water in a large pot. Cover and steam over high heat until tender, 15-25 minutes.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Salad:

1. Place spinach in a large bowl.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring until starting to soften, about 2 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes, olives, parsley and garlic and cook, stirring, until the tomatoes begin to break down, about 3 minutes.
4. Add beets, vinegar, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until the beets are heated through, about 1 minute more.
5. Add the beet mixture to the spinach and toss to combine. Serve warm.

A couple notes:

The beets took longer to soften than I expected while steaming. After 20 minutes, I poked a couple of the wedges with a fork every 4-5 minutes to check their tenderness.

I didn't have Kalamata olives on-hand so I omitted them from the recipe. If I had included them, I know they would have added great flavor to this salad.

I added toasted pine nuts on top of the salad for a nice crunch.

If you would like to add some cheese, goat cheese would be the perfect creamy sweetness in this salad.

Enjoy!