Recently up at my parent's place my mother allowed me to irritate her by photographing her making a tasty beet and carrot salad. I thought it was a nice salad to make, and you do it in advance, so that the flavours have time to permiate. It also uses beets raw, which is a bit of a change when you think of beets they are usually pickled or roasted. (see Roasted Beet Salad)
My mother was smart, and before starting the salad she put on her painting shirt and some rubber gloves. I love beets but they really can stain your hands and your cutting board, and if you have gloves it might be a good idea to use them, if not you can look like an extra in Dexter!
Once she had peeled the carrots and beets, and cut them into a more reasonable size, she pulled out the trusty Cuisinart and attached the shredding blade. They say to do the beets first - i don't really know why, i guess it has to do with the dye, but that's how it was done.
When the carrots and beets were ready my mother went on to make the dressing which was a nice simple one with slightly unusual ingredients. It contained the usual suspects: olive oil, juice of a lemon, honey, but also cumin, cinnamon, corriander seeds, cayanne pepper and a little bit of pepper.
As i mentioned she made this salad an hour or so before the dinner and left it at room tempeture. This was actually a good decision because when we tasted it after she had just mixed it, there was a slight powdery flavour to the salad. I think it takes a while for the beets to absorb the falvors.
Unfortunately my final picture dosent' really give justice to the colours of this meal, it was quite a unique one. The only thing i would try is perhaps replacing some of the lemon juice with (fresh) orange juice. (Warning: that is just a thought, i haven't tried it).
Thanks Mommy!
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