Beetroot, Radish, Hakurei Turnip and Apple Salad with Fennel and a Cider Vinaigrette

This raw winter vegetable salad celebrates frequently overlooked, mostly root, vegetables. It’s crispy, delicious and bright not to mention colorful! All quantities for the vegetables in this salad are approximate. Increase and decrease to taste and availability. Chiogga beets are a great option as they don’t stain the salad deep pink, but staining aside, the flavors are delicious whichever way you go. Hakurei turnips are generally, similar in size to your basic radish. They are delicate and sweet in flavor and counter the bite of the radish. If you don’t care for fennel, celery may easily be substituted, or simply skip it. Adding a few walnuts or almonds to finish is never a bad idea. That goes the same for (goat) cheese. Don’t fret if you have leftovers as it’s crazy delicious and like a slaw day 2!

Ingredients:

2 medium red beets (if you don’t want the salad to turn pink, use chiogga, candy cane striped, beets), sliced thin and quartered
2 medium golden beets, sliced thin and quartered
2-3 crisp flavorful apples, like honeycrisp, sliced
6-8 assorted radish (or 1 bunch), sliced
5 Hakurei (Japanese) turnip, sliced
1 Small Fennel bulb, sliced
Large handful cilantro, chopped
Large handful flat leaf parsley, chopped

For the Vinaigrette
1/4 cup + 2 Tbs good apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Healing 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
Flaky sea salt, to taste, plus more for finishing
Generous amount of fresh ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Whisk together Vinaigrette and set aside

2. Thinly slice all vegetables and apples. A mandolin is best here and makes very quick work of it. If you don’t have one, no worries, a sharp knife will be fine. If sliced are large, feel free to halve, quarter or chop any of them. I prefer the beets to be slices into smaller sizes than the other vegetables and apple here to add balance to each bite. I recommend slicing the golden beets at as the edges may oxidize.

3. Assemble in a large bowl and toss in with cilantro and parsley. If you have used red beets, they will begin to stain the salad pink.

4. Toss with Vinaigrette and season with more flaky sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Serve as is or top with: walnuts, almonds, (goat) cheese... experiment and have fun!

Enjoy!