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Smoky Beet Salad

This flavor-packed, sweet & smoky salad can be a meal in itself with veggies, grains, nuts, and tofu!
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Main Course, Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: Mediterranean, Middle Eastern
Keyword: Beets, Dinner, Grains, lunch, Sides, Smoky, Tofu, Vegetable-Forward Entree
Servings: 4 main dish portions (8 side portions)

Ingredients

Smoky Beeets

  • 2 medium beets sliced into ½" cubes
  • 1 ½ C water or enough to cover the bottom of your braising pan, but not enough to cover beets
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
  • 1 ½ Tbsp liquid smoke
  • 1 Tbsp dill weed dried (or sub ¼ C fresh, roughly chopped)
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander dried, ground
  • 1 Tbsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper ground

Tofu Feta Cheese

  • 14 oz extra firm tofu frozen, drained, & squeezed dry
  • 2 C water
  • ¼ C kosher salt
  • ¼ C nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp white miso
  • ½ C lemon juice
  • 3/8 C olive oil

Salad

  • 2 ½ C smoky beets (recipe above) cut into ½" cubes
  • 2 medium carrots shredded
  • 1 - 1 ½ C cooked grain of choice (couscous, quinoa, rice, etc.)
  • ½ C pistachios toasted, roughly chopped
  • ½ C almonds toasted, slivered or roughly chopped
  • ½ C Medjool dates roughly chopped

Vinaigrette

  • ¼ C lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp water
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp honey or sub agave nectar
  • 1 tsp dill weed dried (or sub 2 tsp fresh, minced)
  • ½ tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper ground

Instructions

Smoky Beets

  • Start by cooking your beets. Preheat oven to 425°F and get out a metal or glass pan that's at least 2 inches deep. Add your cubed beets, water, and sprinkle in the rest of the ingredients. Toss well to mix all of the flavors and coat the beets.
  • Cover the pan with foil place in the preheated oven. Allow to braise for 1 ½ hours while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Tofu Feta

  • Next, begin marinating your tofu for the "feta cheese" garnish.
  • If your tofu is still frozen*, thaw it in the microwave until all ice is liquified. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then slice or tear into large chunks. Over a sink, squeeze all of the water out of each piece of tofu. It's ok if the tofu gets a little mutilated during this process - the final result will be feta-like chunks, which are often a little more rustic-looking instead of perfect cubes.
  • In a saucepan, add the rest of the ingredients except for the lemon juice. Stir to combine. Heat to a bare simmer, remove from heat, and stir in the lemon juice.
  • Place the dried tofu chunks in a pan or bowl. Tear the chunks into feta-sized pieces. Pour the heated marinade over the tofu, cover with a towel or plastic wrap, and place in your refrigerator to cool and marinade for at least 30 minutes.

Finishing the salad

  • Toast and slice the pistachios and almonds if they aren't already prepared. Roughly chop the dates. Cook your grain of choice and set aside 1 cup for this salad.
  • Shred the carrots with a cheese grater or a food processor with the "shredder" attachment.
  • Whisk together all of the ingredients in the vinaigrette.
  • Add all of the salad ingredients except for the beets and tofu feta into a large bowl. Pour in the vinaigrette (you may not need all of it - add just enough for the grains to absorb an ample amount and to coat all of the ingredients). Toss to coat all of the ingredients.
  • At this point, your tofu should be marinated and the beets should be about done (test the beets for tenderness by piercing with a fork; if you can easily fork several cubes, they're finished).
  • To serve, place a generous handful of the carrot/nut/date mixture on each plate. Top with your smoky beets and garnish with the tofu feta (add just enough tofu to add little "pops" of salty-briny-ness, but don't overdo it).

Notes

*Freezing your tofu first greatly improves its final texture and the amount of flavor it absorbs from the marinade.