Why am I so obsessed with beets?! Oh right:

BECAUSE THEY ARE AMAZING.

Lets not dilly-dally. Lets get right into the recipe. For all the tea on why beets are the best, jump over to my IGTV series The Power Of Plants and watch episode 1. It’s short and sweet and packed with powerful info! Check it out here.

This recipe is one of my absolute all time favorites. It’s 100% vegan, but you do not have to be a vegan to love this! The hubs and I are not vegan, however we cook out of this cookbook probably more than any other cookbook have. This recipe comes from Salad Samurai by Terry Hope Romero. She’s freaking amazing. I love her. Her food is so good I could cry. This is one of our most cooked recipes ever, and when you eat it, you’ll see why.

Gingery Beets & Lentils with Lemon Tahini Dressing

(tips for this recipe: you can make your lentils and your tahini dressing ahead of time if you find that you are short on time in the evenings. I pretty much always have a batch of lentils in the fridge for tossing onto salads or eating as a side dish. The tahini dressing keeps nicely for a few days in the fridge if you would like to plan out your week better. This recipe comes together easily with a little planning!)

Beet & Lentil Salad

• 1 pound beets, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces

• 1 TBS EVOO

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2 cups french lentils

• 1 large carrot, minced

• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped

• 1/2 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

Ginger Orange Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

• 2 TBS apple cider vinegar

• 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced

• 2 TBS EVOO

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1 tsp cumin

• 1 tsp coriander

• 3/4 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

   

Lemon Tahini Dressing

• 1/2 cup sesame tahini

• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1 clove garlic, peeled

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 2/3 cup cold water

For the lemon tahini dressing:

Directions: In a blender, pulse all of the ingredients together until smooth. Taste the sauce and season with a dash more of salt or lemon if desired. Store chilled if you don’t use it all.

For the lentils:

Add to a saucepan: 1 cup French lentils, 2 1/4 cups water, 2 bay leaves, 1/2 tsp dried thyme, and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a rolling boil and then turn down the heat to low. Cover the saucepan, and cook for 40-45 minutes or until almost all of the water has been absorbed and the lentils are tender.

Putting it all together:

Preheat the oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Spread the beets on the parchment, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with the salt, and toss.

Roast for 25 minutes or until tender and easily pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, combine the cooked lentils, carrot, onion, and parsley in a mixing bowl.

Whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients and pour half of it over the lentils and toss.

Cover and set aside for the flavors to meld while the beets roast.

Serve the salad!

Arrange the lentil mixture in serving bowls and top with the beets.

Then pour the remaining dressing over the beets. Garnish with a generous drizzle of the tahini sauce and serve up!

OMG I love this dish so much! I can’t wait to hear how my non vegan readers like this recipe! Leave me a comment and tell me everything!!

Hope your day is filled with delicious food, great love, and sexy beets!

Xoxo,

Emily 😊