Arugula, beet, orange and avocado salad
On a recent trip to Los Angeles, I had the pleasure of dining at Gjelina, with a few friends including Adair from the amazing Lentil Breakdown. Aside from the wonderful conversation, the salad of beets, avocado, citrus and toasted hazelnuts was a highlight of the meal. I’ve recreated it here, with the addition of arugula. This colorful salad makes a stunning addition to your holiday dinner table. It definitely has a festive air about it!
Since having this salad, I have become a little obsessed with hazelnuts. I roast and peel large batches of them, so I have them at hand to throw into all kinds of salads or use in cookies. They have a distinctive flavor and are a nice change of pace from the more common almonds and walnuts. Start with this salad, and you might also find yourself going hazelnut crazy, too!
Recipe Note: You can easily roast the beets, but I admit to cheating and using those vacuum-packed cooked beets in a pinch. They taste great!
Arugula, Beet, Orange and Avocado Salad with Hazelnuts
4 small cooked, peeled beets, cut into wedges (see note above)
1 large navel orange
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and very roughly chopped
1 large Hass avocado, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or lemon juice
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 ounces baby arugula
Zest the orange and set the zest aside. Cut the top and bottom off the orange and cut off the peel, making sure to cut off all the white part. Slice the orange crosswise into slices, then cut each slice in half.
In a medium bowl, combine the vinegar or lemon juice, Dijon mustard and orange zest. Whisk in the olive oil. Toss most of the dressing with the arugula, onion and beets, and place on a serving platter. Top with the orange slices, avocado and hazelnuts. Drizzle with the remaining dressing.
Serves 4 as a side dish
Beautiful Salad. Love the colours here
Yummy!
How many does this serve as a main?
I wouldn’t normally serve this as a main, but I guess for lunch, sure. Two people could probably polish it off.
Cathy…love the recipe and your story. People don’t realize how powerful diet is. My uncle has diabetes and might have prostate cancer, I found out today, but instead of changing his diet he will just take drugs and the conventional therapies and feels horrible. I can only hope he eventually finds his way to a better diet as you did. I love your resolve!
Thanks, Dawn. I hope I haven’t given the impression that I forego medication altogether – I take a number of drugs that are essential for my heart condition. However, I believe that a healthy diet will help me live a longer life than medicine alone. Good thoughts to your uncle.
Beets and oranges are such great treats during winter! Nice idea to combine them in a refreshing salad.
[…] hazelnuts August 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment Tweet Pin ItA few months back I made a salad with arugula, beets, oranges, avocados and hazelnuts. The combination of beets and hazelnuts was so delicious that I decided to create a quinoa salad […]