Dark Day / Bright Salad

It is bitter cold today, windy and wretched. The sky is that horrible cloudless winter white that further fuels any depressive thoughts that one might be having. It and life in general feel oppressive. Everything feels heavy and bleak. Rather than feeling revigorated after a brisk walk and coffee with a friend, I came home bedraggled, wind-swept, and dispirited. I am not a fan of winter and it has only just began.

Such a dark day deserved a bright salad so I created this one which I thought might cheer me up and bring better flavor and more color to my day. It also made use of one of the many beets that I got in a CSA box this week (so prepare for other beet recipes in the near future.)

This was an excellent light dinner salad which I would make in a smaller portion as a dinner party appetizer.

1 small red beet, diced

1/2 grapefruit, cleaned and cut into supremes, namely pieces of grapefruit flesh with no pith or membranes remaining

1/2 avocado, diced

2-3 ciliegini (small mozzarella balls), halved

1 tsp chopped mint leaves

2 tsps olive oil

1 tsp rice wine vinegar or citrus vinegar

Flaky salt

Crushed pink peppercorns for garnish (optional)

Mix the olive oil, vinegar, and chopped mint together in a small bowl.

Dice the beet root and add the pieces to the dressing. Let the beet marinate in the dressing for a few minutes while you chop and plate the rest of the vegetables. When you cut the grapefruit in order to remove all of the pith and membrane, do so over the bowl containing the beet pieces so that any juice that drips out gets added to the dressing.

Once you have added the grapefruit, avocado, and mozzarella to your salad plate, add the beet pieces as well, removing them from the bowl with a slotted spoon and leaving behind as much dressing as possible.

Once the beet is added to the salad, you can drizzle some of the dressing onto the plate to ensure that the other elements are dressed. I put this salad together in this particular way because I knew that if I added everything to the bowl and tossed it all together, the whole salad would be bright fuchsia. Composing and dressing the salad this way mitigated that.

Top with some flaky salt and some crushed pink pepper before enjoying.