Alternate Beet Salad Niçoise with Orange Basil Vinaigrette

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My cousin Anne brought me a bag of beautiful veggies from her CSA (community supported agriculture) when we met at Beth’s special birthday party this summer. Inside were beautiful golden and candy cane beets and a handful of okra, which she doesn’t like. She asked me to send her a photo so that she could see what I did with them. I turned them into two separate recipes with items I had around the house. The other recipe is for a beet green soup, because the tops were so nice and fresh, it would have been a shame to discard them. This salad has to be the most colorful one, if not the most delicious one I have ever made. It is loosely based on the classic French one that is a composed salad and contains tuna, special tiny black olives, steamed new potatoes, and green beans (haricots verts), among other things.

Alternate Beet Salad Niçoise with Orange Basil Vinaigrette

• 6 roasted beets, chilled, peeled, and sliced
• 6 small purple potatoes, steamed in their skins until tender, and sliced
• 1/2 tomato sliced
• 1/2 sliced cucumber
• 1/2 cup steamed edamame
• 2 hard boiled eggs, cut in wedges
• 1/2 avocado, cut in thin wedges
• 1/2 orange or blood orange sliced in thin wedges
• 1 small can good quality tuna
• fresh basil leaves
• Maldon salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Orange Basil Vinaigrette

Arrange the rounds of beets, potatoes, tomatoes, and cucumber in alternating layers on a decorative plate.

Arrange edamame, egg wedges, avocado and orange slices over the top, leaving room in the center.

Drain tuna thoroughly and place in the center of the plate.

Tuck small fresh basil leaves peeking out between the layers.

Drizzle Orange Basil Vinaigrette over the top and serve.

Orange Basil Vinaigrette

• juice of 1/2 orange or blood orange
• small handful of fresh basil
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. salt
• fresh ground pepper
• few drops of hot sauce (I use Sriracha)

Place all above ingredients in a small canister or glass measuring cup and homogenize until smooth with a stick blender.

Drizzle over salad.