the pollen count

In keeping with my theme of grilling as much as possible this summer AND we are in the middle of a heat wave with close to 100 degree temps everyday for more than a week, here’s a salad to die for with grilled beets. I usually roast beets in the oven but grilling them is an excellent alternative. I also think I might like grilling beets better than roasting because they get a bit of smokiness from the grilling.

Salads are perfect for dinner on a hot summer’s day and this one is easily a main meal with the addition of a cashew cream and orange-balsamic vinegar dressing, sprinkled with chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts are perfect) and served over a bed of fresh greens. I used a spinach-arugula mix because that is what I had but any sturdy greens will work. If you are not vegan you could sprinkle on some goat cheese and be happy you did because goat cheese and beets are are made to go together!

Here’s my super simple, cool and delicious summer salad recipe that is healthy and requires no oven time.

RECIPE for GRILLED BEET SALAD

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches of any color organic beets, greens removed and scrubbed and rinsed well.
• 3-4 cups mixed greens (spinach, arugula,etc)
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• salt and pepper

Dressing:

Cashew Cream

• 1/2 cup cashews, soaked at least 2 hours
• 1/4 water or cashew milk
• 1 small clove garlic
• 2 tsp nutritional yeast
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup orange muscat champagne vinegar (available at Trader Joe’s) or 1/4 cup white wine vinegar and 2 TBSP orange juice + 1 tsp orange zest)
• 1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
• 2 TBSP olive oil

Directions

1. Turn on your gas grill to preheat. I turn all 3 burners to high.
2. Cut off tops of beets and any rough parts of skin. No need to peel if they are organic. Just scrub well.
3. Slice beets into quarters or eighths if they are really big ones.
4. In medium bowl add beets then toss with 1-2 TBSP olive oil and sprinkle with some S & P.
5. Line a BBQ wok with foil (for easier clean up) and lightly spray with olive oil. Loosely cover with a piece of foil. This helps beets cook a bit faster.
6. Place on your grill and close the lid. Depending on how hot your grill gets and the size of your beet pieces, it will take about 20-45 minutes for them to cook through. Check periodically and turn the beets over to cook get that nice brown grilling look on all sides.
7. While the beets are grilling you can make your dressings. For the Cashew Cream place all the ingredients in a small blender and blend on high until smooth. For the Orange Vinaigrette whisk everything together and put into a squeeze bottle if you have one so you can drizzle it over the salad easier.
8. Once the beets are cooked remove from grill, take off top foil and let sit to cool for a few minutes.
9. On a large platter, put a few cups of the greens and top with the grilled beets. Generously drizzle the dressings over the top and top with chopped nuts and goat cheese (optional, but so yummy). DIG IN!😋