Lemony Beet Salad Recipe from 'Short Stack'
Photos: Mackenzie Smith
Short Stack Editions is a series of ingredient-driven, small-format cookbooks. The following recipe comes from Short Stack Volume 13: Lemons. Go here for more information about this recipe project.
Beet Salad with Cucumber, Lemon & Pistachio
Serves 4
Yes, you can eat beets raw—and you should. They are crisp, earthy and sweet, but totally in need of some serious acid (thanks, lemon!). It’s pretty important to slice the lemons as thinly as possible here (don’t worry too much about them keeping their round shape). Use a sharp knife; a mandoline will tear the lemons instead of slicing them. This is the kind of palate cleanser-esque side dish that should be eaten with a large fatty cut of meat that’s either roasted or braised.
2 small golden or red beets, peeled and thinly sliced
½ lemon, seeds removed, very thinly sliced
½ small red onion, thinly sliced into rings
¾ teaspoon mild honey
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 Persian cucumbers (or half of 1 hothouse cucumber), thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped pistachios
¼ cup coarsely chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon nigella seeds or black sesame seeds
Combine the beets, lemon, onion and honey in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper and let sit for at least 20 minutes to soften the beets. Add the olive oil, cucumber, pistachios, cilantro and nigella seeds, tossing to coat. Season with more salt and pepper and more nigella seeds if you like.
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