Beet Salad with Garlic Walnut Sauce

Mark Bittman had an excellent sounding recipe for Beets with Garlic Walnut Sauce in his February 27 column. Mr. Gastronome made the dish (above) this evening and it was excellent. I think with the addition of a little lemon the dressing would also be wonderful on a jicama salad.

There's also a video of Bittman preparing the salad.

Cabbage Salad with Carrot Pickle

I threw this salad together because I had some left over rice and beans that I wanted to use up. I was very happy with the result.

The amounts below are for a single main course salad, but obviously they can be increased to serve more. The proportions of the various ingredients aren't that important anyway, except you need enough carrot pickle to wilt the cabbage and to flavor the salad.

1 cup of very thin sliced cabbage

2 generous tablespoons of carrot pickle

2 tablespoons minced red onion OR 2 scallions, sliced thin

1 small tomato, diced

1/3 of a jicama, peeled and diced OR 6 radishes, chopped

1/2 cup of garbanzo beans or white beans

1/2 cup of cooked rice

1 teaspoon Greek style 2% yogurt

1 teaspoon mayonnaise

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Italian flatleaf parsley, chopped, for garnish

Combine the carrot pickle and cabbage in a bowl and allow to sit for ten to twenty minutes. The salt in the carrot pickle will wilt the cabbage. (The pickle is very salty and you won't need any additional salt in the salad.) Add the rest of the ingredients except the parsley and toss until all ingredients are well combined and the salad is dressed. Garnish with parsley.