Rainbow Veg Salad with Beet, Brown Rice and Walnut Balls & Creamy Horseradish Dressing

Vegan Beet Salad with Rainbow Vegetables and Horseradish Dressing

4/6/2021

Recipe Difficulty: Medium, Easier Option!

Recipe Tags:

Rainbow Salad
Rainbow Veg Salad
Beets
Veggie Meatballs
Yogurt Horseradish Dressing

About My Rainbow Veg Salad
This salad has a rainbow of colourful healthy vegetables. Instead of straight up boiled or roasted beets, I made my beet, walnut and brown rice veggie burger mixture, and rolled them into little meatballs. I couldn't resist! Perhaps these little beat balls are the best way to utilize the mixture anyway. The texture isn't meaty, they are more soft, delicate, and the taste is of sweet beet with a bit of smoky earthiness from the paprika & cumin. Somehow I just really love them. I like veggie mixtures that taste like vegetables, I'm not a vegan that necessarily wants things to taste like meat. (I enjoy some veggie bacon and the occasional ground round, but it's not my go to at all.)

Immediately when I made these I thought about the chopped veg salads that are ubiquitous in Switzerland. A rainbow of colourful vegetables, (typically straight up cooked beets are part of the equation.) and a sweet creamy dressing. So this is my spin on that salad. I added horseradish to the dressing because I love horseradish and it is good friends with beets. If you aren't a fan you can absolutely omit it. I didn't have any fresh herbs to add to my dressing but I'm confident subbing the horseradish with fresh chopped dill and parsley would be a welcome addition to the flavour profile of this salad. (Or add along with horseradish in the dressing...whatever you prefer.) Whatever dressing you decide on I do think some sweetness somehow balances everything.

What you use in your salad is up to you. Anything goes. Just keep it bright and fresh and have a good variety. I really wanted to add fresh sprouts, I just didn't have any at the time. I really do like the addition of toasted walnuts.

The following ingredients went into my rainbow salad:
Greens
Corn Niblets
Red onion
Grated Carrot
Cucumber
Tomatoes
Beet balls
Toasted Walnuts

Easier Option: If you don't want to make the beet balls, go ahead and take inspiration from the rest of the salad and just roast up some beets instead! It will be similar to the ones I've had many times in Switzerland.

Beet, Brown Rice & Walnut Balls
Yield: 30 beetballs

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups grated carrot
2 cups grated beet
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup mashed potatoes
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (I used 50% whole wheat crumbs)
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Method:

In a large sauté pan add a swirl of veg oil. Add onions and cook until almost softened.
Add garlic, grated beets & carrots and continue cooking while stirring around until mixture has softened.
Add smoked paprika and cumin and stir around for a few minutes. Remove from heat and cool veg mixture completely.
In a food processor blitz together cooled veg mixture, 1 cup of brown rice & 1/2 cup toasted walnuts. You don't want the mixture to be completely pureed. Keep it a bit chunky for texture.
Add blitzed veg, walnut & rice mixture to a large bowl.
Add 2 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1 cup mashed potatoes, 1/4 cup chopped parsley and season with 2 tsp flaked kosher salt (probably less if using table salt) and 1 tsp pepper.
Mix in bread crumbs last. Taste. adjust salt and pepper.
Roll into about 30 balls. Refrigerate until ready to cook.
To cook beetballs, preheat oven to 425F. Line a pan with parchment paper, drizzle a bit of veg oil onto pan. Add balls and pop in the oven for 20 minutes, turning them every 4-5 minutes to brown evenly.
Use beetballs in a salad or wrap.