Glorious day, Chioggia beets! Have you ever seen one? Finding a Chioggia beet is the equivalent of spotting a two-headed komodo dragon window shopping on the streets of San Francisco.
You know you can always find realistic and accurate similes here at hometown The Roasted Root.
Chioggia beets have pink skin, and when you slice into them, you’re pleasantly greeted by vibrant stripes that look like a candy cane. This is exactly why the vibrant root is nicknamed the candy stripe beet.
While I’m proud of the wide selection of produce our local grocery store carries, it’s very rare for us to be graced with the presence of the Chioggia beet. Since I frequent the root vegetable section, I always take stock of what’s available and am thrilled when something new pops up. A few weeks ago, I noticed a handful of chioggias being overshadowed by a pile of goldens and enthusiastically scooped up all the beets. I immediately knew some hot and heavy slicing was in my future.
Both Chioggia beets and golden beets are sweeter than red beets. For this reason, slicing them thinly and leaving them raw makes for a snappy and incredibly nutritious snack. Lately I’ve been enjoying super raw superfood salads. Because beets are full of B vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, I always feel like a tricked-out grown up when I eat me some raw beets.
I used my trusty mandolin slicer
to do all the dirty work because let’s face it: my motor skills are not fine-tuned enough to thinly slice anything using a knife.
Did you see my 4 Ways to Make Pesto Without Basil post on Oh My Veggies? I drizzled some of the parsley pesto over the sliced beets and added goat cheese and chopped cashews. Parsley is also a very cleansing food, particularly for the liver. So what I’m getting at is this salad makes for an excellent detox to your weeknight weekend bottle-of-wine-bar-of-chocolate debauchery.
If you’re looking for a pretty and healthy appetizer, you’ve got one right here! In the event you spot a Chioggia beet at the grocery store or a two-headed komodo dragon window shopping on the streets of San Francisco, trust yourself to make good decisions.
Sliced Chioggia Beet Salad with Parsley Pesto and Goat Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 medium chioggia beet sliced
- 1 medium golden beet sliced
- 2 ounces goat cheese
- 2 tablespoons raw cashews
- Parsely pesto to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the parsley pesto according to instructions.
- Wash the beets and peel them.
- Using a mandolin slicer, thinly slice the beets and arrange them on a plate.
- Sprinkle on the goat cheese and cashew pieces. Drizzle desired amount of parsley pesto over everything.
- Serve alongside your favorite entre.
What a simply gorgeous presentation. I love the swirly beets. They remind me of those all day suckers you can get. I have always disliked beets. Its only been two or three years ago that I changed. A beet salad came as a side with a sandwich I got at a restaurant. I was so surprised that I liked it. Does that mean I am a big girl now. Lol
It took me until my adult years to enjoy beets too. It all revolves around how they’re prepared. I feel like you can make almost anything delicious using certain techniques/flavors, etc. Cheers to being big girls and loving our beets!
Absolutely eye-popping, and I wish I had that plate in front of me right ow.
*now*
Haha! You just reminded me of Supper Troopers when they play the “meow” game 😉 Glad you like the salad, lady!
Well, here’s a real shocker. I’ve never seen one of these in Peoria. I want one so bad! It’s gorgeous! Bring me one, ok? xoxo
Haha! This is the first recipe with chioggias I’ve posted, so they’re definitely a rarity here, too. I’ll bring a bunch through airport security and when the security guy questions me about them, I’ll pop him on the head and run. Sounds like a plan! Anyhoo, I’d love to enjoy a pretty little candy stripe beet with ya. 😀
We don’t have chioggia beets or golden beets where I live. 🙁
I guess I’ll just have to grow my own.
Sorry to hear that 🙁 You could actually try this recipe with raw sweet potatoes or even red beets as well! Pretty much any root that’s been sliced very thinly will work 🙂
What a beautiful salad! Wow! The colors just scream spring!
Thanks, Kelly! I love how beautiful the salad is too. 🙂
Ooohhh, chioggia beets are so purdy. I’ve never had them but I will definitely be on the lookout because this looks deelish! The parsley pesto sounds so good. That, and I may need some detox from the weekend-bottle-of-wine-bar-of-chocolate-debauchery as well.
I need to start paying more attention to the root vegetable section at the grocery store because I don’t think I have ever seen a chioggia beet before! They are the most beautiful beets in the world though! I want some just to take photos of, and then devour them with a bunch of goat cheese, of course! Such a beautiful salad 🙂
Give me gorgeous beets and then add goat cheese…I’m sold. Thank you for sharing and making my evening both brighter and more delicious!
I have seen these at my grocery store, but they definitely don’t look like what they are from the outside….and they were not labelled, so I thought they were normal beets! Now that I know better, I’m definitely going to have to pick some up! I love beets and goat cheese…that parsley pesto would take this to a whole other level. Yum!
This is the purdiest plate of beets I’ve ever seen. I kind of want to frame the picture and hang it in the kitchen. Better yet, I wan to eat all the beets.
I get veggies coming out of my ears this time of year because my family owns a CSA farm! (just picked over 50 lb of asparagus!) so at times i will have bags of mixed variety of beets! I love them! Pinning this recipe cuz I will need it!
Something changed in me this year and I cannot stop eating beets… these look awesome!
And I *especially* loved your cilantro spin (we are whole-hearted cilantropists in our house).
Cheers!
Note to self: if I ever spot a chioggia beet, I should hug it. And then abscond with it into the night.