Fancy Schmancy Beet and Mango Salad Um, yeah I...

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Fancy Schmancy Beet and Mango Salad

Um, yeah I always prepare everything this way. Who doesn’t?

I made this beet salad after being inspired by a photo on Epicurious. I had a bunch of beets from the farmers market, and 1/2 a mango leftover from yesterdays breakfast, so why not try my own version?

By cutting the beets into small dice, they seemed to have more flavor than beet salads I’ve made which were simply cut into slices. Could it be that each one of those pretty little cubes is covered on 6 sides by the lemony garlic dressing, allowing more flavor per square inch? huh? I don’t know, but, the small size makes them just about melt in your mouth. If you don’t feel like chopping all these tiny cubes, beet salad is still good cut into slices.

Set oven to 400. Place some red & gold beets in an oven proof dish, seasoned with salt and pepper, lightly drizzled with olive oil, & covered with foil. Cook for about an hour, depending on their size, till tender. Let them cool completely or in the fridge overnight.

Peel and chop your beets into small squares about 1/4 inch or so, (red & gold separately, if you’re going to do the fancy mold thing). Cut the mango and mix it with the gold beets. Drizzle 1 tblsp of the dressing into each of the beet dishes and toss.

For the dressing, mix together the juice of 1 Meyer Lemon, (or any lemon), 2 tblsp rice vinegar, 1 smashed open garlic clove, salt & pepper, 1 tblsp honey. Whisk in 3 tblsp olive oil slowly to form an emulsion.

On a bed of lettuce, press the red beets, then the gold beets & mangoes, into any mold that is tallish. Mine is a crescent moon cookie cutter, and it’s about 1 3/4 inches high.

Garnish with any pretty green you have. I used a bit of fennel. yum.

“Go fancy or go cry, bitches!” That’s a quote from Mrs. Edina Sweary, my neighbor, upon seeing my pretty salad. Then she covered, “I don’t mean that personally. It’s just a figure of speech.” Whatever, Edina.