Monday, January 11, 2010

Warm Beet Salad with Potatoes and Sauerkraut


We'd hate to call this a potato salad because of the slimy mayonnaise memories "potato salad" evokes. So let's just call this Russian dish, inspired by a version we devoured at Sadko, a beet salad with potatoes. You can still serve it cold in situations that normally call for potato salad, like summertime picnics, but when served warm, it can keep your blood from freezing during those long Siberian winters.

3 large waxy potatoes (with or without skin)
3 large beets
1 1/2 cups sauerkraut, chopped
3 tablespoons dill, minced
3 scallion, chopped
1 tablespoon white vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil (plus more for roasting)
salt

Peel the beets and chop them into 1/2 inch cubes. Toss with a little olive oil and salt on a baking tray. Roast at 350 until fork-tender (about 40-50 minutes).

Meanwhile, chop the potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. Boil in water until tender, then drain and rinse in cold water.

Toss together all of the ingredients and taste for salt. Serve slightly warm or cold.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This sounds so good! I've been looking for ways (other than chocolate cake) to slip beets into my cooking because they are so healthy but they just seem too sweet for a main dish (for my taste anyway.) I think the saltiness of the sauerkraut (not to mention the nutritional value of the cabbage) plus the vinegar would help. Also potatoes are filling. What a vitamin packed dish to make for supper! I can't wait to try this. Becky

I Heart Kale said...

Hi Becky,

Enjoy! We love beets and are always trying to think of ways to pair them with salty/savory things to get an entire meal out of them. You might also want to try beet fritters, beet and cumin soup, or this salty-sweet main-dish beet salad.