Vinaigrette Salad with Avocado Oil Dressing (Ukrainian Red Beet Salad)

This salad is very special to me. It brings back those sweet childhood memories when my mom used to make it for her family on holidays. She loved making everything surrounding the holidays extra special for the kids and its small things like these that resurface sweet memories. It was really special, thinking back. The best time for making this particular salad was usually in the fall/winter time after the harvesting of red beets from the garden fields.

Back in Ukraine, my parents grew very large fields of produce as a means to provide for the large family. Not only red beets, but most of the ingredients that go into this salad like carrots, potato, onion, and pickled cucumbers are home-grown. Back then it was the way of the land. Nowadays, you have the option of all these ingredients being instantly available at any grocery store allowing you to make this salad any time you wish. While still very delicious, it still doesn’t quite have the same sentimental value.

So, I really wanted

… to post this salad as we harvest the ingredients from my garden as well. Of course, you don’t have to wait for the fall season to make this salad, but it’s when it feels most seasonal to me. I consider this salad as one of the healthiest ones out there. It consists of organic vegetables, including red beets which are very good for you. I usually make this salad about a day ahead, because it tastes best after all the vegetables have soaked in the flavors.

There are many different varieties of this salad. Some people add peas or beans. We like the simple original version as we’ve had in childhood. As for the dressing, a little plain oil does the job. I used sunflower and vegetable oils in the past, but avocado oil is the best tasting and healthiest, in my opinion. It’s a great tasting, healthy salad that also looks very festive. Give it a try and you’ll know what I mean.

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs. (680 g) – potatoes (I use yellow)
1 lb. (450 g) – carrots
2 lbs. (900 g) – red beets
1 small – onion (I use yellow)
8 oz. (225 g) – pickles (I use 2 large pickles)

¼ cup (120 g) – Avocado oil
½ tsp. (5 ml) – black ground pepper
1 tbsp. (15 ml) – sea salt (plus 1 tbsp. for cooking beets and 1 tbsp. for cooking potatoes with carrots)

Instructions:

1. Trim off stems, wash and place potatoes and carrots into a small pot. Cover with water, add 1 tbsp. (15 ml) and boil for 25 minutes. Drain and let them cool before peeling and dicing.

2. Same cooking instruction for red beets, except I cut each beet into 4 pieces to speed up the cooking process. (You may also bake beets in the oven. Cover each whole beet with aluminum foil and bake at 400 F (200 C) for 45-60 minutes depends on the size.)

3. After cooked vegetables are cooled, peel the skin, dice vegetables, and then place all diced vegetables into one large bowl. (I placed all diced vegetables into different bowls temporarily for better visibility.)

4. Mix all ingredients together. Sprinkle salt, pepper and add avocado oil. Mix very carefully again (do not mash vegetables while mixing so the softened vegetable cubes don’t lose their shape).

Cover the bowl with a lid and refrigerate for at least 12 hours or overnight for best tasting result. Mix the salad before serving. Enjoy!

5 from 3 votes

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Vinaigrette Salad with Avocado Oil Dressing (Ukrainian Red Beet Salad)

Prep Time

45 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Total Time

1 hr 10 mins

 

There are many different varieties of this salad. Some people add peas or beans. We like the simple original version as we’ve had in childhood. As for the dressing, a little plain oil does the job. I used sunflower and vegetable oils in the past, but avocado oil is the best tasting and healthiest, in my opinion. It’s a great tasting, healthy salad that also looks very festive.

Servings: 14

Author: Valya at Valya's Taste of Home

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs. 680 g – potatoes (I use yellow)
• 1 lb. 450 g – carrots
• 2 lbs. 900 g – red beets
• 1 small – onion I use yellow
• 8 oz. 225 g – pickles (I use 2 large pickles)
• ¼ cup 120 g – Avocado oil
• ½ tsp. 5 ml – black ground pepper
• 1 tbsp. 15 ml – sea salt (plus 1 tbsp. for cooking beets and 1 tbsp. for cooking potatoes with carrots)

Instructions

1. Trim off stems, wash and place potatoes and carrots into a small pot. Cover with water, add 1 tbsp. (15 ml) and boil for 25 minutes. Drain and let them cool before peeling and dicing.
2. Same cooking instruction for red beets, except I cut each beet into 4 pieces to speed up the cooking process. (Tip: You may also bake beets in the oven. Cover each whole beet with aluminum foil and bake at 400 F (200 C) for 45-60 minutes depends on the size.)
3. After cooked vegetables are cooled, peel the skin, dice vegetables, and then place all diced vegetables into one large bowl.
4. Mix all ingredients together. Sprinkle salt, pepper and add avocado oil. Mix very carefully again (do not mash vegetables while mixing so the softened vegetable cubes don't lose their shape).
5. Cover the bowl with a lid and refrigerate for at least 12 hours or overnight for best tasting result. Mix the salad before serving.
6. Enjoy!

If you make this Vinaigrette Salad with Avocado Oil Dressing (Ukrainian Red Beet Salad) recipe please share a picture with me on Snapchat, Instagram or Pinterest. Tag with #valyastasteofhome. I’d love to see your creations! 🙂

Looking for more delicious salads? Here are a couple similar recipes to choose from:
UKRAINIAN POTATO SALAD “OLIVIE”
SUNFLOWER SALAD RECIPE

Kitchen item I used in making this recipe:
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I know… a little spendy, but totally worth it! 🙂

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