Roasted beets and kale salad with horseradish crema

Roasted beets and kale salad with horseradish crema – sweet and earthy, with a spicy kick, and lots of toasted nuts and seeds, this fall salad packs a ton of flavor and a festive look, perfect for a special occasion.

This roasted beet and kale salad with horseradish crema, fresh dill, toasted mustard seeds, and hazelnuts, is the latest addition to my beet salad collection.   I have a thing about beets, as I’ve mentioned before, and I keep reinventing the perfect beet salad, over and over.

This one really packs a punch from the creamy horseradish dressing, and it’s full of contrasting flavors and textures.  As usual, I like to pair sweet with spicy and salty, creamy and crunchy, until all my taste bud sensors get tickled.  So yeah, this salad has it all – you have the earthy sweetness of the beets, the slight bitterness of the kale, which I turned into chips, so it adds crunchiness too, the tangy, pungent kick of the horseradish, and the aromatic toasted hazelnuts.

I personally prefer lots of horseradish, but if you’re not a big fan of spice, start with one tablespoon, and increase to two, if you can tolerate it.  I use Trader Joe’s prepared horseradish, with no added sugar.  The mustard seeds have a similar flavor profile, so they complement the dressing, and add tiny bursts of fire, and crunch.

The look is pretty too – the deep purples and oranges of the beets, contrasting with the dark green, glossy kale leaves – it simply has fall written all over it, and would be great to make for the holidays. So why not make it at your first opportunity, say this Thanksgiving?! 🙂

I’ll leave you with that thought, and I hope I’ll pop up here again some time after Thanksgiving.

Have a plentiful, delicious Thanksgiving feast!

If you’re a beet lover, you must try these scrumptious beet salads:

Roasted beet and charred onion salad with rosemary, pine nuts and Pecorino Romano cheese
Smoky beet salad with chipotle pistachio butter, grapefruit and black garlic
Roasted beets, pomegranate, and kaniwa salad
Beet and carrot salad with mustard garlic vinaigrette
Roasted beet salad with caramelized garlic, walnuts and goat cheese

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Roasted beet and kale salad with horseradish crema

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

50 mins

Total Time

1 hr

 

Roasted beets and kale salad with horseradish crema - sweet and earthy, with a spicy kick, and lots of toasted nuts and seeds, this fall salad packs a ton of flavor and a festive look, perfect for a special occasion.

Course: Salad

Servings: 2

Calories: 254 kcal

Author: Viktoria

Ingredients

For the salad:

• 1 lbs beets (a mix of golden and red variety)
• 1 bunch Lacinato kale
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, smashed
• 1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
• a handful of chopped fresh dill
• 5 Tbs horseradish crema (recipe follows)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds (optional)
• 1 tsp poppy seeds (optional)

For the horseradish crema:

• 2 Tbs sour cream
• 1 1/2 - 2 Tbs prepared horseradish (with no sugar added)
• 1 Tbs mayonnaise (with no sugar added)
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400° F.

2. Scrub the beets clean, and cut off the tops (no need to peel if your beets are organic).  Slice in half, and then each half into 3-4 wedges.  

3. Place a few wedges onto a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle with a little olive oil, and coarse sea salt, and wrap.  I make about 4-5 parcels.

4. Roast the parcels for 45 - 60 minutes or more, until the beets have started to caramelize, and develop a nice crispy crust. 

5. While the beets are roasting, clean and remove the tough stalk from the kale leaves, and tear into big pieces.  Toss with 1 Tbs olive oil, a little salt, and the smashed garlic clove, and spread on a baking sheet, trying not to overlap the leaves too much (use two baking sheets if necessary). 

6. Once the beets are done, reduce the oven temperature to 350° F.  Roast the kale for 10-15 minutes, keeping an eye on them, until they have just begun to crisp up.

7. Mix the sour cream, and mayonnaise with the salt, and add 1 Tbs of the prepared horseradish.  Taste, and add 1 more tablespoon of horseradish if you like.

8. In a dry skillet, add the mustard seeds, coriander seeds, and poppy seeds, and dry toast for 1-2 minutes on a low/medium heat.  

9. Assemble the salad by layering the roasted kale at the bottom of a shallow salad plate, the beet wedges on top, then dot with the horseradish crema, and top with lots of fresh dill, toasted hazelnuts, and the toasted seeds.