Insalata di barbabietola gialla e rucola con vinaigrette al limone
Yellow beet salad with arugula, avocado, nuts and a lemon tarragon vinaigrette
Introduction
A simple, fresh salad: sweet yellow beet marinated in a lemon and tarragon vinaigrette, peppery arugula, creamy avocado and crunchy nuts.
Ingredients
Serves 1
For the salad
- 1 medium yellow beet
- 40–50 g arugula (about 2 loosely packed cups)
- ¼–½ avocado
- A small handful of walnuts or pecans
For the lemon vinaigrette
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ tsp whole-grain mustard
- ¼ tsp dried tarragon
- A pinch of salt and pepper
Method
1. Cook the beet
Wash the beet and boil or steam it until tender, 30–40 minutes.
Let it cool, peel it and cut it into wedges or cubes.
2. Make the vinaigrette
Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, whole-grain mustard, tarragon, salt and pepper well.
3. Marinate the beet
Pour the vinaigrette over the beet and let it marinate for at least 10 minutes.
4. Toast the nuts (optional)
If you like, toast the nuts briefly in a dry pan.
5. Assemble the salad
Place the arugula on a plate and arrange the marinated beet on top.
Add the avocado and the nuts.
Enjoy!
Author’s note
Red beet works very well for high blood pressure. That is why I created this salad, combining beet with arugula: they have helped me a great deal with my own hypertension. In this version I used yellow beet; you can also make it with red beet.
Why beet lowers blood pressure
I have read many books on nutrition and orthomolecular medicine, and I learned that red and yellow beet strongly lower blood pressure. Beets are rich in nitrates. The body turns these nitrates into nitric oxide (NO), a molecule that relaxes and widens the blood vessels, and this lowers blood pressure.
My experience
I have diabetes, and diabetes can cause very high blood pressure. When my blood pressure was extremely high, my doctor did not know what to do. I helped myself this way, because doctors don’t know that red and yellow beet lower blood pressure.
Two warnings
- Never eat raw beet or drink raw beet juice, red or yellow: it can cause nausea and make you very ill. In France, whole school canteens of children have fallen ill after eating raw beet. Always cook it, as in this recipe.
- If you have low blood pressure (hypotension), be careful: beet lowers it even further. If your blood pressure is dangerously low, do not eat red beet.
Read more about the cases of illness linked to raw beet in France (articles in French):
Allergens
Contains tree nuts (walnuts or pecans) and mustard.
Naturally gluten-free and dairy-free. Check the label of the mustard if you avoid gluten.
Reacties