Christmas

Shaved Vegetable Salad with Apples and Lemony Tahini Dressing

December 16, 2014
4
1 Ratings
  • Serves 6
Author Notes

A shaved vegetable salad dressed up with crisp apples and a lemony tahini dressing. —Elizabeth Stark

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • For the salad:
  • 1 bunch small beets with greens
  • 3 young carrots, peeled
  • 4 large radishes
  • 1/2 bulb fennel, trimmed with fronds reserved
  • 1/2 small red onion
  • 1 small head boy choy
  • 1 large apple
  • sea salt and extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
  • For the lemony tahini dressing:
  • juice of 1 lemon (roughly 1/3 cup)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons minced red onion
  • sea salt, to taste
  • 1/3 cup tahini
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
  1. Remove greens from beets and set aside.
  2. Thinly slice beets, carrots, radishes, fennel bulb (trim the fronds and reserve them for later), and red onion on a mandoline slicer. (To keep beets from turning everything pink, set shaved beets in a separate bowl and wash down the mandoline before shaving other vegetables.) Drizzle shaved beets with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt, and toss. Place remaining shaved vegetables in a large bowl, sprinkle with sea salt, and toss.
  3. To make the dressing, combine lemon juice, minced garlic and red onion, and a generous pinch of sea salt in a small mixing bowl. Whisk in tahini, and then the olive oil. Add black pepper and additional sea salt to taste.
  4. Cut beet greens and bok choy into thin ribbons. Core apple and slice very thin.
  5. Drizzle the beets with several tablespoons dressing. Do the same for the vegetables. In a large salad bowl, drizzle beet greens, bok choy, and apple with dressing. Just before serving, toss everything but the beets with the greens. Tuck beets throughout. Finish with a few drizzles of dressing and a pinch each of sea salt and black pepper. Garnish with reserved fennel fronds.
  6. To make ahead, prep vegetables and make dressing. Day of, add sea salt to shaved vegetables, and sea salt and olive oil to beets. Just before serving, toss each element with dressing and finish as above.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Dina Moore-Tzouris
    Dina Moore-Tzouris
  • mainesoul
    mainesoul
  • Jane Dean-Burkhart
    Jane Dean-Burkhart
  • HaylesYeah
    HaylesYeah
  • Don Roszel
    Don Roszel
Elizabeth Stark, along with her husband Brian Campbell, chronicles her passion for simple, fresh recipes on the award-wining food blog Brooklyn Supper.

11 Reviews

Toddie August 6, 2017
There is a typo. Not sure if you meant bok choy or boy toy... (*_~)
 
Dina M. March 10, 2015
Ah-mazing! I've made this like 3 times, and it is just fantastic. You literally feel better after you eat it! Keeps great in the fridge for a day or two, if for some crazy reason you have left overs.
 
mainesoul January 25, 2015
I brought this to a party today. It looked beautiful, tasted great and got accolades. Ir took a lot of work.
 
Natalie January 3, 2015
Made this last night using the slicing attachment of the new Kitchenaid food processor I got for Christmas. Not only did that make prep super easy, the dish was absolutely amazing, and that dressing is getting added to my go-to's for any salad!
 
Elizabeth S. January 3, 2015
That's great to hear, Natalie! My current food processor just doesn't get the cut thin enough, so it's great to know the KitchenAid is up to the job. And so glad you liked the recipe! (That dressing's a definite fave for me too.)
 
Jane D. December 19, 2014
What would you recommend if I don't have a mandoline? What do you think about grating the veggies?
 
Elizabeth S. December 19, 2014
I think grating the vegetables would be just fine. I'd still separate out the beets until the last minute, and be ready for them to turn it all pink.
 
HaylesYeah December 18, 2014
Oh man. A feast for the eyes and stomach! Not to mention my immune system is forever grateful from the holiday baking-surge I've been in for the last few days. Made this for dinner and it was a delicious success! It's a big-kid version of a gorgeously composed winter slaw. The yield was definitely hearty and we have a ton left over for tomorrow. Thinking about adding some preserved lemons next time. Thanks for the great recipe!
 
Elizabeth S. December 19, 2014
Oh wow, that is so wonderful to hear! And preserved lemons? Sounds divine.
 
Don R. December 18, 2014
So you don’t cook the beets?
 
Elizabeth S. December 18, 2014
Hi Don, That's right! They're sliced paper thin, salted, and dressed; I find those elements take most of the bite out. Just like carrots, though, you'll want to select beets for flavor and sweetness.