Swedish Pickled Beetroot Salad ♥

Even though pickled beet salads are traditional Christmas food in Scandinavia, today's recipe works for a quick Easter vegetable, too. It's just pickled beets and orange slices in a light mayonnaise, sour cream and horseradish sauce. Just look at that bright pink color! Very tasty! Naturally Gluten Free.

~recipe updated, first published way back in 2008~
~more recently updated recipes~

This easy beet salad was one of three favorite new recipes last Christmas. It works so beautifully with ham, it's already on our Easter menu.

The combination of beets, sour cream and horseradish makes it much like Borscht Beets. But Swedish Pickled Beetroot Salad is special (better? perhaps!) because of the extra spark from pickled beets and the texture/flavor/color contrast from orange slices.

WHERE TO FIND PICKLED BEETS? Our Christmas salad used up the last of some homemade pickled beets but look for pickled beets in the grocery store alongside canned beets. I also supplemented the homemade pickled beets with my favorite (and inexpensive) refrigerator pickled Swedish Beets and there was no telling the difference. If you go this route, please know that the Swedish Beets must be refrigerated at least 24 hours before eating or using in this salad.

TURNS OUT, PEOPLE LIKE PICKLED BEETS! I've been surprised how much people go for pickled beets. And if you keep a jar of Swedish Beets in the fridge, it's easy to throw together a small salad for a quick supper or a gathering. Here's one that goes over really well, Pickled Beet Salad with Fresh Blueberries & Mint.

SWEDISH PICKLED BEETROOT SALAD

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Time to table: 20 minutes (can be made ahead by a few hours)
Makes about 3-1/2 cups

SAUCE
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream with a splash of lemon juice (or 1/4 cup crème fraîche)
1 tablespoon horseradish
1/2 tablespoon yellow onion, grated small with a cheese grater or a microplane
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Splash of lemon juice

BEET SALAD
1 pound (454g) pickled beets, well drained and chopped into bite-size pieces
1 or 2 oranges (or 3 - 4 small tangerines), peel sliced off, sections cut into bite-size pieces
Salad greens, orange slices, roasted beet, fresh dill, for serving & garnish

SAUCE Whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, horseradish and onion. Season with pepper, lemon juice. Taste the sauce and adjust as needed.

BEET SALAD Cut the beets into pieces, prep the oranges and stir both into the sauce. Taste and adjust as needed. Refrigerate until serving but bring it out to come to room temperature beforehand.

SERVING SUGGESTION Arrange fresh salad greens on a plate, top with Swedish Pickled Beetroot Salad. Garnish with orange slices, a few pieces of roasted beet and fresh dill.

ALANNA'S TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
Light mayo works well, my favorite is Hellman's Light. Lately, I've become enamored with Duke's Mayonnaise for full-fat mayonnaise. Low-fat / light sour cream would work well too. Non-fat mayonnaise or non-fat sour cream? I'm no fan of either but if they work for you, they'll be fine.
For pickled beets, Swedish Beets work well, so do home-canned pickled beets and jars of pickled beets from the grocery store.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per 1/2 Cup Serving: 124 Calories; 7g Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 6mg Cholesterol; 233mg Sodium; 14g Carb; 2g Fiber; 2g Sugar; 1g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS WW Old Points 3, WW PointsPlus 3, WW SmartPoints 4, WW Freestyle N/A since the beets are pickled with sugar CALORIE COUNTERS 100-calorie serving = scant 1/2 cup (0g protein).

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More Beet Salads for Beet Lovers

~ How to Make a Roasted Beet Salad ~
~ Beet Salad with Sumac, Yogurt & Pita ~
~ Twice-Roasted Beets with Red Grapes, Cherries, Blueberries & Avocado Feta Cream ~
~ more beet recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Beet Röesti with Rosemary ~
~ Borscht Beets with Sour Cream ~
~ Refrigerator Pickled Beets ~
~ more beet recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column

SEASONAL EATING: THIS SAME WEEK ACROSS THE YEARS

Mâche with Orange Cumin Dressing Cook’s Illustrated Foolproof Oven-Baked Brown Rice Broccoli Rabe with Peppers Cabbage Sprouts Pride of Erin Soup (< this week's St. Patrick's Day favorite!) Wine-Glazed Brussels Sprouts Alsatian Cabbage The Danger of Convenience: Birdseye Steamfresh Frozen Vegetables Potato & Poblano Pepper Gratin Farm Pie with Whole Wheat & Lard Crust Swedish Pickled Beetroot Salad Parsnip Pear Purée Chayote Soup with a Kick Baked Sweet Potatoes Beer-Soaked Crispy Baked Fries Spinach Pancakes Crazy-Good Cooked Cabbage

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