Labour Day weekend is already over… to me, this means the end of the summer and the beginning of my very favourite season of the whole year: fall! The crisp air, blowing wind, gray clouds in the sky, freshly harvested vegetables, handpicked berries, ocean waves crashing on the shore, bonfires at the beach, boilups… all my favourite things!

To say goodbye to summer and welcome fall, I made this roasted beet and pea shoot salad that contains fall vegetables with a touch of summer citrus and avocado.

I went to market and found those beautiful local pea shoots from The Organic Farm. I love pea shoots, they are sweet, crunchy and packed with nutrients. They are just so vibrant, they make the salad so much more interesting! Did you know that you can also easily grow these beauties at home year-round? My friend Paula wrote an awesome post about how to grow pea shoots on her blog.

Along with these gorgeous pea shoots, I used one of my favourite vegetable, which is also in season right now: beets. This is the time of the year where I can get freshly dug beets any time I want really as they are sold at all the small farm stands on the side of the road and also at the Farmers Market. I love to roast a tray of beets in the evening, and then I put them in a container in the fridge to use them in recipes throughout the week. Some of my favourite uses for roasted beets are in salads, quiches, stir frys, dips, preserves and also in brownies! Here you can find another recipe for a really simple sidedish of marinated beets.

This colourful salad is made of nutrient-dense pea shoots, sweet roasted beets, bitter pink grapefruit and creamy avocados.  It is topped with an amazing lime and mustard dressing that just brings all the flavours back together. The variety of textures and tastes in this salad make each bite so delightful, marrying summer and fall together beautifully. Hope you enjoy this delicious salad! I am curious to know what is your favourite season – don’t be shy and leave a comment below! Thanks for reading!

Roasted Beet, Pea Shoots and Citrus Salad

 

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This colourful salad is made of nutrient-dense pea shoots, sweet roasted beets, bitter pink grapefruit and creamy avocados. It is topped with an amazing lime and mustard dressing that just brings all the flavours back together.

Author: Homemade Hearts

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 large (or 2 medium) beet
• 2 cups loosely packed pea shoots (can be substituted with baby spinach)
• 1 grapefruit
• 1 avocado, diced
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

Lime Dressing

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon whole grain dijon-style prepared mustard
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon honey
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Chives for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Wash beets and wrap them in tinfoil.
2. Place beets on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees F for about 1 hour, or until a fork easily slides to the middle of the beet. I recommend to roast more than one beet and use the other beets for pickling or other fun beet recipes!
3. Once the beets are roasted, let them cool until you can hold them in your hands and remove the peel with your fingers. The peel should be very easy to remove, if it is difficult, cook it a bit longer.
4. Cut roasted beet into quarters and slice each quarter beet.
5. Peel and cut grapefruit into segments, set aside.

Lime Dressing

1. Prepare salad dressing by mixing olive oil, mustard, lime juice, honey, sea salt and black pepper with a small whisk.

Presentation

1. Place a bed of pea shoots on a serving plate.
2. Top pea shoots with sliced beets, grapefruit segments, avocado and pumpkin seeds.
3. Drizzle wtih lime dressing.
4. Put the salad on the table and serve.

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