Beet, Carrot and Feta Salad

Are you looking for ways to use those freshly harvested beets? This salad turned my younger sister from a beet hater to a beet lover!

INGREDIENTS:


· 2 medium large raw beets, peeled

4-5 medium carrots, peeled

· 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, well drained

· feta cheese for garnish (approx. 1 - 1 1/2 cups total)

· 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

· juice of half an orange (or 3-4 Tbs orange juice)

· 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar

· 1 tsp dried dill (or 2 Tbs fresh chopped dill)

· 1 minced clove garlic

· black pepper to taste

· salt to taste (go light because of the saltiness of the feta cheese)

PROCEDURE:

Get started by making the dressing in a mixing bowl, that is large enough to eventually make the salad in, by combining about 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil with the juice of half of a fresh squeezed orange, 2-3 Tbs of balsamic vinegar, about 1 tsp of dried dill, a good crack of fresh ground black pepper and 1 minced clove of garlic and whisk it up.

Next, use a peeler to peel a couple of medium sized beets over the sink and then use a box grater to grate those raw beets right into the bowl with the dressing. Then grate an equal amount of peeled carrots over the top of that.

Be super careful with your fingers as you're grating the vegetables or, if you wanted to, you could use a food processor with a shredder attachment instead.

Next, add 1 well drained 15-ounce can of chickpeas and toss everything around to coat.

All that is left is to check it for seasoning, maybe add a little more orange juice or dill and maybe a pinch of salt but, be careful with the salt because the feta cheese we're finishing with is pretty salty itself. Finish each individual serving with a little crumbled feta cheese over the top.