Recipes > Beet, Pumpkin Seed & Feta Salad
- Serves: 4
- Active Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Views: 45,035
- Success Rating: 92% (?)
Steps
Step 1: Steaming the Beets
- 1 1/2 lb beets
Method
Set up a steamer. Fill with one inch of water and place over medium-high heat. Refer to the Rouxbe Cooking School lessons on Steaming for more information, if necessary.
As the water is coming to a simmer, wash and peel the beets. Cut into approximately 1.5" -inch cubes. Once the water is simmering, place the beets into the steaming basket and set over top of the steamer. Cover with a lid and steam until tender and fully cooked through about, about 30 minutes or so.
Step 2: Preparing Your Mise en Place
- 1 to 2 small shallots
- 1 small fresh, red chili
- 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
- 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley
- 4 oz feta (or goat) cheese
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- sea salt (to taste)
- freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
Method
While the beets are steaming, toast the cumin seeds. Place a small skillet set over medium heat and toast the seeds just until fragrant. Set aside. Toast the pumpkin seeds until just golden, if desired.
Next, emince the shallots lengthwise and finely dice the chili. Roughly chop the parsley and set aside.
Mince the garlic and place into a small jar. Add the sherry and extra-virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Shake to emulsify. Taste for seasoning and adjust to your liking.
Finally, crumble the cheese and set aside.
Step 3: Assembling the Salad
- sea salt (to taste)
- freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
Method
Once the beets are tender and cooked through, remove from the steamer basket and place into a large bowl. Set aside to cool.
Once the beets have cooled to room temperature, shake the vinaigrette again to emulsify. Pour over top. Add the toasted cumin seeds and toss to coat. Taste the beets for seasoning, adding a bit of salt and pepper as desired, keeping in mind how salty the cheese is.
Note: If this salad is tossed with the cheese, it will turn pink; therefore, it is best to assemble the salad in layers.
Divide some of the beets among the plates. Sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds, feta cheese, sliced onions, chilies and parsley and repeat until the ingredients are used up. Serve.
8 Comments
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I wanted to try some beets because I've learned how good they are for you, but when I tried a piece (peeled, raw), it had a musty flavor to it. How do you cook them or what can you do to them to get rid of that musty taste? All the recipes I looked at on the internet (besides Rouxbe), said how good they tasted. What I tasted wasn't so good. Thanks Dennis -
Rouxbe Staff
Common ways to cook beets are to simmer, steam or roast them. For the best flavor, choose beets that are firm and relatively small in size with no bruises. Older, larger beets tend to be woody and bitter. Check out the lessons in the cooking school on Submersion Cooking Methods and How to Steam vegetables. We also have a Roasting Vegetables lesson in the pipeline, so stay tuned. In the meantime, here is a good link with more information on beets. Cheers! -
I know how to cook beets. It's the taste that turns me off. Beets have a musty, earthy flavor I don't like. How do I eliminate or overcome that flavor in beets?
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Rouxbe Staff
Tender, young beets have the best flavor. Like any vegetable, you should not have to do much to it to enjoy it in its most natural state. If you do not like the taste of young beets, perhaps beets aren't your cup of tea. Cheers!
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I've tried beets boiled, steamed, and baked. I've tried young beets, older (larger) beets, and they all have a musty or earthy flavor. Some people don't notice this, or they are not put off by that flavor. I am. Sooooo, the other night, I peeled some beets, cut them into slices, and steamed them for 15 minutes. I then let 'em cool. I used a plastic container and added 1 chopped clove of garlic, a tbl of dried onion (didn't have any fresh at the time), the beets, and then added LaMaison Organic Lemon Ginger Sesame Dressing. I put the lid on and shook up all the ingredients and let it marinate in the refer for about an hour. It was fantastic .
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I may be missing it, but I don't see what to do with the shallots after they are eminced & the chile after it is diced. Are they sprinkled on w/ the pumpkin seeds, feta, & parsley during the salad assembly step? Thanks for your time! -
Rouxbe Staff
Good catch. Step 4 has been updated. They are both added at the end as you assemble the salad. Cheers!
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Just made this salad and found the ingredient list to be quite interesting (and very different that what I would normally expect to find in a beet/feta salad). Honestly, I didn't love this salad, as I feel it had too much going on. More than anything else, I am questioning the chili and the cumin seeds. I felt like this salad didn't need the slight heat (peppery taste) the chili brought and I didn't really understand the addition of the cumin seeds. They tasted just fine (I love cumin), but I felt like they weren't needed. The vinaigrette was interesting too as the sherry vinegar brought a completely different flavor profile (from the other vinaigrettes I have made so far in this course) - it too, was not my favorite. Of course, all of this likely comes down to personal preference. :) The beets were perfectly steamed at 26 minutes; I only used about 1/2 of the feta cheese (and that was more than enough too). The salad came out beautifully and I would absolutely make again (with a few minor variations to suit my personal taste preferences). I will omit the chili and the cumin seeds. I will also mince the shallot and add it to the vinaigrette. I may also try a different vinaigrette too - just to see how that changes things. Nonethless, this lesson (on steaming veggies) and this recipe in particular has opened my eyes to a veggie I love (but have been too afraid to make at home), so thank you as always Rouxbe!
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