Beet Salad with Tehina Sauce and Fresh Herbs

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spread 1 cup of the salt in an ovenproof skillet or baking dish. Put the beets on the salt and cover with the remaining 4 cups salt. Bake until the beets are tender, about 90 minutes. Note: For this portion of the salt, I use coarse salt. For the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons, I use fine kosher salt.
2. While you're waiting, make the tehina sauce. Process the garlic, 1/3 cup of the lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor until coarsely puréed; let sit 10 minutes to allow garlic to mellow. Strain the garlic mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, pressing on solids to release as much liquid as possible. Return liquid to food processor; discard solids. Add tahini and pulse to combine. Add cumin if you like. With motor running, add 1/4 cup ice water by the tablespoonful and process (it may seize up at first) until mixture is very smooth, pale, and thick.
3. Peel and grate the cooled beets into a mixing bowl using the course holes of a box grater. Add 1/2 cup of the tehina sauce (you’ll have a lot leftover to use at a later time), oil, lemon juice, dill, and mint and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix well to blend. Top with more chopped dill and mint and serve at room temperature.