Beet
The Source Aware Salad From ‘Health Nut’
- Prep time 25 minutes
- Serves 2
Author Notes
Since Isis Aquarian gave me this recipe, it has become an almost daily staple in our house. Ben and I take turns making it, and sometimes we will shred a big batch of veggies so it’s easier to assemble for a couple of days. It seems like eating it every day could be one of the answers to life. Don’t forget to Maintain the Standard.
Reprinted from the new book Health Nut: A Feel-Good Cookbook by Jess Damuck. Text copyright © 2024 by Jess Damuck. Photography copyright © 2024 by Linda Pugliese. Published by Abrams. —Jess Damuck
Test Kitchen Notes
Jess Damuck, self-proclaimed salad freak (and author of the 2022 cookbook by the same name), resurfaces this salad in her latest book, Health Nut, a love letter to hippie culture and California, its beautiful produce, and the plant-forward bowls, smoothies, main dishes, and desserts Jess loves to make and eat. It was originally served at The Source, a legendary Sunset Strip health food store popular in the 70s and 80s, and run by Jim Baker, aka “Father Yod,” the leader of a Hollywood Hills commune/cult called The Source Family. According to Isis Aquarian, the family’s documentarian, a sign in the kitchen read: “Maintain the Standard,” meaning, essentially, cook with positive vibes—your food will taste better that way.
—Nicole Davis
Ingredients
- For the Source Family dressing:
-
1
lemon, juiced
-
3 tablespoons
finely chopped fresh dill
-
3 tablespoons
finely chopped fresh chives
-
1 tablespoon
whole-grain mustard
-
2 tablespoons
white wine vinegar
-
1/4 teaspoon
onion powder
-
1/4 teaspoon
garlic powder
-
1/4 cup
(60 milliliters) olive oil
-
Kosher salt, to taste
-
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- For the salad:
-
1
head romaine or 3 heads little gem lettuce
-
1/2
head red cabbage
-
3
stalks celery
-
1 pint
(290 grams) cherry tomatoes
-
1
avocado
-
1/2
English cucumber
-
4
medium carrots
-
2
medium beets
-
1 cup
(90 grams) broccoli or alfalfa sprouts
-
1/4 cup
(35 grams) roasted sunflower seeds
-
1/4 cup
(35 grams) pine nuts, toasted
Directions
- Make the Source Family dressing: In a bowl, combine the juice of 1 lemon, 3 tablespoons fresh dill, 3 tablespoons fresh chives, 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard, 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, ¼ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste, and whisk to combine, or add to a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake. Make sure to taste for seasoning. Store any leftover dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Prep the salad: While you could just make one big salad, I like to make individual servings and build each bowl up as I go. Start with chopping 1 head romaine to create the base, and put half in each of your two serving bowls. Then use a mandoline or box grater to very thinly shave half a head of red cabbage and bunch it together in a small pile on top of the romaine in each bowl. Since I have my mandoline out, I use it to thinly slice 3 stalks celery, then I add that evenly around the bowls. Next halve 1 pint (290 grams) cherry tomatoes and group the halves together on top of each salad.
- Slice 1 avocado and fan the slices on one side of each bowl. Slice half an English cucumber into half-moons and gather those together on top of the lettuce in each salad. Peel 4 carrots and grate on the large holes of a box grater, and keep building by adding a pile of carrots to each salad. Always save the beets for last unless you want everything to be pink. (Wear gloves if you don’t want pink hands.) Peel 2 beets and grate with the box grater and arrange in small piles next to the carrots.
- Assemble and serve: Place half of the sprouts in the center of each bowl. Drizzle with a generous amount of the dressing and sprinkle with ¼ cup (35 grams) sunflower seeds and ¼ cup (35 grams) pine nuts, dividing them evenly between the salad bowls.
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