Vibrant and packed with fresh spring flavors, this pickled beet salad is the perfect way to showcase seasonal produce! Thin slices of quick-pickled beets are layered with sliced fennel, vegan ricotta, and nasturtium leaves and flowers for a gorgeous spring salad. With only minimal cooking involved and just 20 minutes of hands-on prep time, this vegan salad is the perfect way to enjoy your homemade pickled beets.
I’ve long been a firm believer in the fact that things that are in season together go together. It may sound like a simple principle, but it’s one that frequently guides how I develop and share recipes here. And, it’s one that Erin French echoed in an episode of The Lost Kitchen that I just watched. By pairing things together that are being grown and harvested at the same time, you’re able to truly experience the season at hand. You’re able to actually see and taste that specific moment in time, which I think is an incredibly magical thing!
This pickled beet salad was born out of this guiding principle. I found myself with lovely candy-striped Chioggia beets and petite fennel from a local farm and knew I needed to pair them with peppery nasturtium leaves that were threatening to overtake my garden beds. I decided to pickle the beets because I was craving something tangy and bright. To make this vegan salad more substantial while also adding a creamy element, I added some of my homemade vegan ricotta. Each element is arranged on the plate in order to be a feast for the eyes as much as the belly!
Why You’ll Like This Recipe
- It’s the perfect way to slow down and appreciate all of the beautiful colors, flavors, and textures of the spring season.
- There’s minimal cooking involved (just 5 minutes to make the pickling liquid for the beets!) and just 20 minutes of active hands-on prep time.
- Once you pickle the beets, the salad comes together fairly quickly, especially if you opt to use a store-bought vegan or regular ricotta.
- It’s both vegan and gluten free.
- It’s as enjoyable to look at as it is to eat!
How to Make Pickled Beets
The base of this salad is thinly sliced quick-pickled beets. They’re incredibly simple to make, and since we’re slicing them very thin, we don’t need to peel or cook them beforehand! You’ll start by scrubbing your beets very well. Or, if you prefer to peel them, you can do that instead. Slice off the very top and bottom of both beets. Using a mandoline or a very sharp knife, cut your beets into very thin rounds like you see in the photos here. Transfer your sliced beets into a wide-mouthed glass pint jar or similar sized container.
Next, make the pickling liquid. Combine the water, vinegar, salt, bay leaf, cracked black peppercorns, and garlic clove in a small pot over medium heat. Bring the liquid to a simmer. Let it simmer 5 minutes then remove it from the heat. Carefully pour the liquid over the beets until they are fully submerged. Allow the beets to pickle for at least 1 hour before proceeding for the recipe. You can easily do this 1 day (or even 1 week!) ahead of time. Keep any leftover pickled beets in the fridge and make sure to enjoy them within a month.
Tips for Composing this Pickled Beet Salad
Rather than tossing everything together like a standard salad, we’re intentionally “composing” all of the elements together on a plate. Here are some tips for composing a beautiful salad:
- Add each element one by one. Start with the beets first, then the nasturtium leaves. Next comes the fennel, then dollops of tofu ricotta. Finish the salad by garnishing with dill or fennel fronds, nasturtium flowers (if you have them) and a sprinkle of salt and pepper if you like.
- To keep the pickled beets from “bleeding” onto all of the other elements, you can blot them with a paper towel prior to composing your salad. It also helps to lay them down first on the plate!
- Fennel has a tendency to oxidize (like an apple) once it’s sliced. You can either cut it right before you make and eat your salad. Or, you can keep the slices in cold water with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice until you need them. Just make sure to drain them before you create your salad!
- Have fun with it and don’t rush the process! Think of it like you’re painting or drawing.
Looking for more springy salad recipes? Try this celery salad with blood orange, dates, and walnuts or this spring lentil salad with creamy dill dressing.
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Pickled Beet Salad with Fennel and Nasturtium Leaf (vegan)
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 2-3 servings
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Vibrant and packed with fresh spring flavors, this pickled beet salad is the perfect way to showcase seasonal produce! Thin slices of quick-pickled beets are layered with sliced fennel, vegan ricotta, and nasturtium leaves and flowers for a gorgeous spring salad. With only minimal cooking involved and just 20 minutes of hands-on prep time, this vegan salad is the perfect way to enjoy your homemade pickled beets.
Ingredients
for the pickled beets:
- 2 medium beets
- 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns, cracked
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 garlic clove, smashed
for the salad:
- 2 cups nasturtium leaves, loosely packed
- 1 small fennel bulb
- 1/2 cup vegan ricotta
- 2 tablespoons fennel fronds or dill, roughly chopped
- sea salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
- nasturtium flowers, optional for garnish
Instructions
Make the pickled beets first. Either scrub your beets very well or peel them. Slice off the very top and bottom of the beets. Using a mandoline or a very sharp knife, cut your beets into very thin rounds. Transfer your sliced beets into a wide-mouthed glass pint jar or heat-proof container.
Make the pickling liquid next. Combine the vinegar, water, salt, peppercorns, bay leaf, and garlic clove in a small pot over medium heat. Bring the liquid to a simmer. Let it simmer 5 minutes then remove it from the heat. Carefully pour the liquid over the beets until they are fully submerged. If you have pickling liquid left over, you can use it to pickle other veg or discard it. Allow the beets to pickle for a minimum of 1 hour before proceeding with the recipe. Keep your pickled beets in the fridge and enjoy them within a month or two.
Right before you’d like to serve your salad, prepare the fennel. Remove the fronds and stems from the fennel if they are still attached. Cut the fennel in half. Remove and discard the core (at the root end), then thinly slice the fennel. Save 2 tablespoons of the fronds and give them a rough chop.
Choose the plate or platter you’d like to serve your salad on. Start by arranging some of the slices of pickled beet on the surface. You can blot the pickling liquid from the slices if you’d like to keep the appearance of the salad clean and tidy. Next, add some of the nasturtium leaves, then slices of fennel. Add dollops of the vegan ricotta next, followed by the chopped fennel fronds (or dill). Finish with a sprinkle of salt and pepper if you like and a few nasturtium flowers.
This salad is best enjoyed soon after it’s made. If you prefer to only eat one serving at a time, I recommend only making one serving at a time as the salad does not hold up well once assembled.
Notes
- You can use any variety of beet you like here. The variety in the photos is Chioggia.
- If your fennel does not have the fronds attached, use an equal amount of fresh dill.
- If you don’t have access to nasturtium leaves, you can use baby arugula or baby mustard greens in their place.
- I highly recommend using my vegan tofu ricotta for this recipe! You can find the recipe here.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Inactive Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: salad
