Hot beets and butternut squash with ice cold citrus-horseradish yogurt dressing and marinated red onions. A wonderful color palette and bold, delicious flavours.
Brimming with flavour, this salad packs a hefty nutritional punch thanks to the beetroots, squash, the horseradish, and greens. It's super bold with hearty flavours, the spicy coconut, horseradish dressing and the sour marinated onion freshes it up. I love how easy to make it is; with my oven running all day I just threw in a few whole beets wrapped in aluminum foil and a tray full of sliced squash.
The dressing can be made with any kind of yogurt, just keep the horseradish paste (divine!) or just make a simple horseradish honey/maple vinaigrette but I personally love the coconut taste, it gives the dish a special kick and creaminess and also tames the horseradish super-powers.
It's definitely a wonderful choice as a side, and super cheap as well! You can also add lentils or any grains if you want to make it more intricate, but I imagined this served with a slice of lentil loaf so there will be lots of grains in there.
Warm winter salad with coconut yogurt
Ingredients
Salad
3 whole beets, washed but not peeled
1/2 medium squash
2-3 handfuls of green leaves (I used arugula and spinach)
3/4 cup plant-based yogurt (I chose the coconut one)
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp EVOO
1 tbsp sweeter of choice
1 tsp sea salt
1-2 tsp horseradish paste
2 tbsp chopped parsley
black pepper
*spring green onions - optional
Quick Marinated Red Onion
1 red onion
3-4 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp water
pinch sea salt
Instructions
To marinate the onion, thinly slice it and put in a jar. Add the lemon juice, salt, and water. Put a lid on it and give it a few shakes. Leave in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Wrap the washed beets in aluminum foil. Wash and chop the squash in big squares. Put on a tray. Make some space for the beets too and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 45 minutes- 1 hour or until a fork smoothly pierces the beets.
You can also add an aluminum foil on top of the squash slices if you don't want them to burn or form their specific peel.
Prepare the coconut horseradish dressing but mixing the coconut yoghurt, olive oil, salt, sweetener, and lemon juice. Add the horseradish paste and mix well. If you use a store-bought horseradish paste, be careful to have it plant-based - they usually tend to have a dairy product in it. Leave aside.
When the beets and squash are ready, take them out and leave to cool until you can safely work with them.
Peel the beetroots and chop in big squares.
To prepare the salad, take a big plate and make a green leaves bed. On top, add a mix of squash and beets. Drizzle with dressing, sprinkle with black pepper and add an extra EVOO splash.
