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Healthy Beet Cucumber Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

This beet cucumber salad recipe is as simple to throw together as it is healthy and delicious. Sweet earthy beets and refreshingly crunchy cucumber are tossed with salty feta and pistachios and finally, doused in lemon vinaigrette and fresh mint. Dig in for a light lunch or serve it as the perfect side from early spring right through the end of summer.
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Course dinner, lunch, salad, side
Cuisine Mediterranean, vegetarian
Servings 0

Ingredients
  

  • LEMON VINAIGRETTE INGREDIENTS
  • 3 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 teaspoon pure maple syrup sub. with honey
  • ¼ to ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • SALAD INGREDIENTS
  • 4 small beets (8.8 oz)
  • 1 English cucumber 8-12 oz
  • 2 oz feta
  • ½ cup mint leaves
  • 1 shallot sliced into rings
  • ½ cup pistachios crushed
  • ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
  • Lemon juice to taste I added 2 teaspoon after I tossed the salad

Instructions
 

  • Prepare vinaigrette in a small bowl. Start by adding lemon juice, mustard, and maple syrup. Slowly whisk in the olive oil so that it emulsifies. Add in minced garlic and salt and pepper.
  • Slice cooked beets. Place in a large bowl or a serving platter.
  • Split fresh cucumber in half lengthwise and remove seeds with a spoon. Slice into half moons. Place cucumber slices in the salad bowl with the beets.
  • Crumble feta. Place in the bowl with the vegetables.
  • Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl: the sliced shallot, mint and pistachio. Pour vinaigrette over everything and toss gently.
  • Add 1-2 teaspoon more lemon juice to taste. Add salt to taste, starting with ¼ teaspoon and increasing until the salad is seasoned to your liking.

Notes

To Cook Beets in the Oven: 
  • Preheat the oven to 400°F. Wrap each beet in aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil, using your hands to coat the beet.
  • Place the beets on a baking sheet and roast for 40 to 90 minutes, depending on their size,  until soft and fork-tender. Remove the beets from the oven, remove the foil, and set aside to cool. 
  • Once cool enough to handle, peel the skins. The skins should peel away easily. If they don’t, they likely need to cook for longer.
To Cook Beets in the Instant Pot
Place a rack into your instant pot. Add 1 cup of water (very important for the machine to come to pressure). Add beets. Cook beets on high pressure, referring to size in the list below to determine cook time.
For tender beets you can sink a fork into, here are some cook times based on size:
  • Very small beets (1.5” to 1.75” diameter) – 15 minutes
  • Small beets (2” diameter) – 20 minutes
  • Medium-large beets (2 ½” diameter) – 30 minutes
  • Extra Large beets (3” diameter) – 40 minutes
Once cool enough to handle, peel the skins. The skins should peel away easily.
Keyword beet, cucumber, salad, side, vegetarian
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