Inspired by a Local Restaurant Leputing - My Take on Beet Salad

This beet salad was inspired by a local restaurant in Taiwan call Leputing. The salad was one of the courses from Mother's Day lunch set. I love the vibrant color from the roasted beet. In addition, the use of mayonnaise and beet puree as salad dressing took me away from the same old vinaigrette. 

My take on beet salad - 

Ingredients (for four)?

• 1 beet
• 5 tablespoons of mayonnaise
• 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Tiny pinch of sea salt

• 1 corn on the cob
• 1 citrus
• 1 lime zest
• 1 small bag of frisee 
• Some mixed salad greens
• Some sea salt
• Some freshly ground black pepper

How?

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wash the beet and cut off both ends. Wrap the beet with foil and keep the top opened. 

Transfer onto a baking dish and roast the beet for 1 to 1.5 hours, till the center can be poked through with fork without much resistance. 

Once ready, remove the beet from heat and wait for it to cool down. Wear a glove to prevent both hands from staining, rub or peel off the skin and cut into smaller cubes. Transfer 1 1/2 cups of beet cubes to a food processor and save the remaining to serve with other salad greens. 

Inside the food processor, also add mayonnaise, smoked paprika, and small pinch of salt. Blend till smooth and strain if a smoother texture is preferred. This can be make ahead and store in the fridge up to few days. 

Season one corn on the cob with salt and pepper. Grill till it turns slightly browned then slice down the kernels. Peel and segment the citrus of your choice, remove the seeds if there's any. 

To plate, take a brush and decorate the plate with beet puree by drawing a circle. Add a big scoop of beet puree in the center and flatten it out. Arrange frisee and mixed salad greens on top of the beet puree. Add kernels, citrus, and beet cubes throughout. Make sure don't over-crowd the plate. Sprinkle lime zest on top of the salad.

The seasoned kernels paired well with beet puree, so I purposely used more kernels compared to other elements. Try to plate right before serving, otherwise the salad greens might appear "wilted" due to the moisture from the citrus and beet puree.


Other salad recipes:

• Enjoying steak in a less guilty way - served with arugula salad
• Lettuce and prosciutto salad with poached egg
• Summer salad with watermelon, feta, okra, cherry tomatoes, balsamic reduction, and cilantro dressing
• Fancy salad is not as hard as it looks - utilizing store bought ingredients to create restaurant quality greens