Citrus Beet Salad with Creamy Poppyseed Dressing

Hello!  This is going to be a short one, since I’ve got exactly 24 days to turn in a manuscript and I’m generally freaking out.

How do people do this?  Can I please get some help squeezing more hours into the day?  What if my book really sucks and no one but my dad buys it?  Baaaaeaifjdfjoiaealsdfjha FREAK OUT.

And yet, a girl’s gotta eat.  Stress ice cream is a given, but with all the amazing citrus fruit now in season, a bright salad of beets and oranges and scallions, topped with light but creamy poppyseed dressing sounds about right.

Pre-cooked beets make it easy (thanks, Trader Joe’s).  Fresh fruit makes it juicy.  Poppyseeds make it snappy.  It’s mood boosting and stress-relieving, because it’s fresh and bright but also because I can’t eat it standing over the sink, thinking of everything still left to do.  Plates are necessary.  Forks and seats at the table.  A break from the crazy.

Perspective is a good thing!  Also, oranges.

What do you eat when you’re stressed?

Citrus Beet Salad with Creamy Poppyseed Dressing

Adapted from the lovely Sassy Radish

If you have an avocado lying around, thrown it on top!  Yum.

Ingredients:

• 4-5 small to medium cooked, peeled beets, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
• 3 large citrus fruits (I like navel oranges, Cara Cara oranges, blood oranges or ruby grapefruits – the photos above are navel and Cara Caras)
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
• juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup fresh juice)
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• a handful of micro greens or baby arugula

Directions:

Arrange the beet slices on a serving dish.  Cut the rinds and bitter white pith from the citrus (a sharp paring knife is great for this job).  Slice the peeled citrus into 1/4-inch round slices, then arrange the citrus slices on the platter with the beets.  Sprinkle scallions on top.

In a small bowl or tupperware, whisk together the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, poppy seeds, olive oil, and salt and pepper, to taste, until the mixture is smooth and creamy.  (If you’re using a tupperware, just secure the lid on top and shake the dressing until it emulsifies.)  Spoon some dressing over the salad, and finish with a scattering of micro greens or baby arugula.

Enjoy immediately!  (Both salad and dressing can be assembled ahead of time, but it’s best to wait until just before serving to dress the salad.)

Serves 2-3.