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Elegant Beet Fennel Salad

A simple salad that has all the elegance of a restaurant without the hassle of going out. For two or a group. Lots of make-ahead options too.

Course Salad
Cuisine American
Keyword beets, fennel, lettuce, pistachios, pomegranate, radicchio
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

Salad

  • 3-4 beets (depending on size) See note about the size of beet & fennel slices/pieces.
  • 1 large head of Bibb lettuce
  • 6-8 or more leaves radicchio
  • 1/2 bulb fennel, very thinly sliced or cut in half and thinly sliced See note about size and method of cutting fennel.
  • 1 pomegranate, seeded

Dressing

  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar See note about substituting unseasoned
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, preferably kosher + 1-2 pinches, divided
  • 3-4 grinds fresh black pepper

Garnish

  • 1/2 cup shelled pistachio nuts, roasted or unroasted (see note about roasting)
  • 2 tablespoons parsley, minced

Instructions

Salad

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. Peel the beets, trim their tops and bottoms and either thinly slice or cut into small pieces. In a medium bowl, toss the beet slices/pieces with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and 1-2 pinches of salt.

  2. Lay the beet slices/pieces out in a single layer and bake for 15-20 minutes until you can easily pierce them with a fork. Let the beets cool down to room temperature.

  3. Gently rinse, dry and tear the lettuce leaves and radicchio. You can do this by hand or with a salad spinner. In either case, be gentle. If using a salad spinner, you may need to do a final pat-down with a (clean) cloth or paper towel.

Dressing

  1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, measuring cup, or jar.

  2. Stir, whisk, or shake vigorously before using.

Garnishes

  1. Set nuts and minced parsley aside for topping the salad. See note about roasting nuts

Assembling Salad

  1. Add the lettuce, radicchio, and a few tablespoons of dressing to a large bowl, and mix them well. (Reserve the rest of the dressing for serving on the side or for a different salad, later.) Then transfer them to a serving plate.

  2. Top with the beets, fennel, and pomegranate seeds. Garnish with parsley and nuts.

Recipe Notes

If you get your Bibb lettuce in a plastic container like I did, it may contain 2 small heads. I consider that equivalent to 1 large head.

Beets stain. Make sure you use a cutting board from which you can wash out the stain. And don't be surprised if your hands get stained too!

I like my pieces of beet and fennel to be bite-sized. The original recipe specified beet wedges and slices cut from the 1/2 fennel. I prefer my pieces smaller, so I cut my medium-large beets in half, then quarters before slicing and the same with fennel. If you have a mandoline and like to use it, feel free to slice the fennel with that equipment. I hand slice mine, as thin as I can. 

I like the aroma and taste of roasted nuts. To save on washing, I simply waited til the beets were done, lowered the heat to 350°F/180°C, put the pistachios on the same sheet pan and roasted them for about 6 minutes, turning them halfway through.