Heat wave salad with raw beets and carrots

Like pretty much everyone else, we’re in the middle of a heat wave here in the Hudson Valley, and cooking is not a welcome activity.

On our last workday, Logan mentioned that she liked to make a salad of raw beets and carrots, saying that the two vegetables seemed to work together particularly well. I’ve always been a fan of shredded carrot slaws, but I tend to forget that beets can be eaten raw. I decided to try Logan’s suggestion, and I have a new favorite salad. I’ve made it twice, both times adding chopped sweet onion from a local farmer and using a citrus vinaigrette. The first time, I added chopped mint, and the second time, chopped rosemary.

It’s surprisingly quick work to peel raw beets, and I let the food processor do the grating of both vegetables. The beets and carrots do seem to like each other’s company: the carrots soften the earthier flavor of the beets. This salad is hearty enough to be a main dish, and, although the red beet color will eventually bleed onto the carrot and onion, it is sturdy enough to keep in the fridge for several days after preparing it.

The seasoning possibilities are endless: instead of or in addition to onion, you could add garlic or fennel, and a wide assortment of herbs would complement the vegetables. (If my tarragon would only grow, I’d try that.) A sherry or balsamic vinaigrette would also work as well as the citrus version that I used.

With the heat wave due to break this week, and some welcome rain expected, we are looking forward to planting some things that we will be harvesting well into the fall and early winter. Watch for a post on our progress soon.

Heat Wave Salad

4-5 medium carrots, scrubbed or peeled and grated
4 medium beets, peeled and grated
1 small onion, finely chopped (and/or chopped garlic or fennel)
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice or vinegar
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped mint, rosemary, or other herb
salt and pepper

Combine vegetables in bowl. Mix citrus (or vinegar) and oil and pour enough over the salad to thoroughly moisten it. Add chopped herb and season with salt and pepper.