Thursday, December 22, 2011

Roasted Beet, Avocado and Grapefruit Salad


If you are looking for a wonderfully refreshing winter salad, then you do not have to look any further.  The Roasted Beet, Avocado and Grapefruit salad will satisfy all of your cravings and be healthy too.  Hubby and I enjoying dining at Ruths Chris every once in while as a treat.  Among our favorite dishes there, is the Ruths Chris Jumbo Chopped Salad that is made of: Julienne iceberg lettuce, baby spinach and radicchio are tossed with red onions, mushrooms, green olives, bacon, eggs, hearts of palm, croutons, bleu cheese, lemon basil dressing and then topped with crispy onions.



Hubby calls it the "canned" salad whenever we go there, since they make it in a mold that resembles a can.  Above is a photo of this delightful salad that is from the Ruths Chris website.  If you have not been to a Ruths Chris, you are in for a super treat.



Devon from Deli-cute-essen who I was paired with a couple months ago for Secret Recipe Club gave me inspiration for this salad. Her Pickled Beet and Grapefruit Salad caught my eye. I made quite a few modifications but wanted to share that my inspiration was from Devon.  I adore the stacked salad and the combination of flavors she put together is amazing. I thought that I would make it with the avocado, grapefruit and beets along with Arugula for a bit of natural spiciness.



Stacked salads are always an impressive dish to serve at a dinner party and will make your guests mouths drop. The possibilities are endless with the ingredients and combinations. You could put a theme spin on each one whether it be Italian, Mexican or Asian.




Roasted Beet, Avocado and Grapefruit Salad

Makes 4 individual salads

4 Large Beets, roasted, peeled and cubed
1 ½ C Grapefruit sections, cut into cubes
2 Avocados, cut in half, pit removed and cubed
2 C. Arugula leaves
½ C. Pine nuts

Dressing

2 T. Grapefruit Juice
2 T. Maple Syrup
¼ t. Cumin
1 T. Olive oil
pinch of salt

Add all ingredients into a small jar and shake well.

To prepare the beets, cut off the hard ends and rub olive oil all over them. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for about 60 minutes at 350 degrees until fork tender. Remove from the oven and let cool. Peel and cube.

To assemble, lay out four rings onto individual plates. Lay the Arugula leaves on the bottom of each of the 4 plates. Using a 3 inch ring, place it on top of the Arugula leaves. Layer each one with the beets then the avocado and finally the grapefruit. Remove the ring and drizzle each one with the dressing. Sprinkle with the pine nuts and top with a few micro greens on top of each one. Enjoy!

14 comments:

  1. I think this is one of the most beautiful things I've seen all season! All my favorites wrapped up in one salad, and I love the presentation. I think I need to get myself another Christmas Present... from me to me in the shape of those rings!!

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  2. This is just beautiful! I love all of the ingredients you have combined here, it is something that would be served in a fine restaurant! Love it! :)

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  3. I agree, this is beautiful! I'm going to make it for our Christmas Eve dinner topped with crab. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  4. Wow, is that a pretty salad! I love the combination of textures and flavors and the maple syrup in the dressing is just the right amount of sweetness. Very nice selection for this months' SRC.

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  5. I was just telling hubs the other day that I have missed roasted beets. This post is a perfect reminder to do it and soon! Your salad is beautiful, Lisa. I love the complementary colors and textures in the dish.

    Wishing you and hubs a very merry Christmas!

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  6. So much beauty in these "stacks" GREG

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  7. Lisa...what an absolutely gorgeous salad! Your photography is just amazing! It really does look delicious (beets and avocado together must be divine!). Hope you have a wonderful holiday season! : )

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  8. Very showy salad with ingredients that I like more! Merry Christmas!

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  9. Lisa, you always have such great flavors for us:) I dig the grapefruit, avocado, beet combo. And adding the maple syrup and cumin in the dressing is an unexpected treat! Yum.
    I hope you had a good Christmas and I wish you a very happy (and tasty) 2012!
    -E

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  10. I was looking for a winter salad and I really don't have to look any more..I just love the colors and presentation
    Making this today

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  11. Grapefruit and avocado are on sale all over town, I'm so happy to find your site this week. Thank you!

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  12. Oh this is gorgeous! I made something very similar (but everything raw) a couple of years ago, I had to go back and check, we did almost the same presentation! Your pictures look much better though :) It's in french, but I'll leave the link in case you want to look at the picture http://toutcru.blogspot.ca/2008/07/tartare-de-betterave-au-pamplemousse.html
    Have a great day!

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  13. I made this salad for dinner last night. My husband loved it and was impressed by the presentation. I thought it was good, however the grapefruit was just a bit overpowering. That's just my personal taste, though.

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  14. I made this last night and my husband loved it. the stacking was hard to get to stick, it was best when i push the ingredients down securely to get things to stay together. I didn't have a fancy round ring so I made one by taping some heavy stock paper together. It worked ok till i started to push things down a bit and it got a little soggy but just cut it off and unraveled it. As far as taste, I added goat cheese and really liked the combo of the arugula, beet, avocado and goat cheese the best. The grapefruit i was totally diggin while i was peeling them but they didn't do anything for me on the salad. My husband just ate it all in delight!

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