Beets are strange and amazing little root vegetables with gorgeous color and incredible versatility. Roasted, they become silky and very sweet, while grated raw they are perfect candidates for salad topping or vegetable fritters.

Beet juice is fantastic

Avoiding the use of toxic red food dye is simply a matter of obtaining some of beet liquid. I discovered recently that this juice is quite delicious! Considering how rock-hard they are in their natural state, beets produce a good amount of smooth, mild juice that is great on its own or when blended with carrot and cucumber juice.

Re-use it

Today we’re going to make both a juice and a delicious salad from all the leftover pulp. Although it is not necessary for juicing purposes, I would recommend peeling your cucumbers in order to avoid having large pieces of peel in your pulp, making it more easy to use as is.

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Beet, Carrot and Cucumber Juice

Juice Ingredients

  • 4 medium beets, scrubbed, trimmed and peeled
  • 5-6 small-medium carrots, trimmed and peeled
  • 2 small Persian cucumbers (or one large), peeled

Juice Instructions

Juice all ingredients in your juicer and collect the pulp in one bag.
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Beet Salad with Toasted Walnuts and Goat Cheese Dressing

Using the beet-carrot-cucumber pulp to make this wonderful salad could not be simpler. I love the combination of beets and goat cheese, and the walnuts give the salad a welcome crunch — a nice textural contrast to the pulp. The beets’ deep garnet color gives this dish such visual appeal that it could certainly be served as one of a few appetizers at a gathering, with a few pita toasts to scoop it up.

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Salad Ingredients

  • beet-carrot-cucumber pulp
  • goat cheese vinaigrette
  • ¾ cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons mint leaves, thinly sliced

Vinaigrette Ingredients

  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons tarragon white wine vinegar (or a vinegar of your choosing)
  • 2 to 3 heaping tablespoons of soft, herbed goat cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste

Vinaigrette Instructions

In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the olive oil with a few generous splashes of tarragon white wine vinegar, and the herbed goat cheese. Sprinkle in a bit of salt and pepper and whisk until smooth. Pour over pulp and toss.

Salad Instructions

Arrange a few leaves of lettuce or radicchio on a plate or small platter. Spread the dressed pulp over the leaves. Sprinkle the salad with walnuts and mint, and serve.