Springtime Beet Salad with Sunflower Sprouts

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Well my darlings, I certainly hope you all missed me desperately yesterday and hustled yourselves right over to Save The Internet to console yourselves/do the right thing, etc. And a huge thank you to Pim (the style-riffic Pim, I should say) for organizing our little Blog-Out. I sense it was a roaring success.

And now my sweet juicy peaches, on with the show…

Spring has been a wee bit tardy this year in sunny Southern California. The weather has been fine, but apparently not “crop-tastic” meaning we are just seeing things in the market that should have made their 2006 debut weeks ago. That said, its not exactly fall around here either, but this dish does have all the components of autumn, sassed up for May. Sunflower sprouts (in the fall I would use the seeds), beets and pears. Crisp, light and ultra chic. I should try it again come September and see how different it comes out! (Note to self…)

If you have a fear of beets, this is a great method, it’s pain-free, but not stain-free (hardee har) and the whole salad comes together in a snap. Adding goat cheese would be nice (cliché, but nice) and while they aren’t in the photo, dry cured olives add a great contrast.

Try this, and enjoy!

1 large beet, peeled and sliced paper thin
2 large firm pears, sliced paper thin
Large handful sunflower sprouts
12 dry cured olives, pitted
Olive oil
½ lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Arrange the pears and beets on a plate. Top with the sunflower sprouts. Drizzle with olive oil and a light squeeze of lemon. Add salt and pepper, and three olives per plate. Serve chilled.

Makes four small salads

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Grain and nut sprouts, such as wheat and sunflower, are rich in fats. While fats in flour and wheat germ have a reputation for getting rancid quickly (stores should refrigerate them), fats in sprouts last for weeks. While sunflower oil is our finest source of omega 6, germination of the sunflower sprout micellizes the fatty acids into an easily digestible, water soluble form saving our body the work of breaking it down and also protecting us against rancidity. Wholistic Research.com

A heartfelt congrats to Suzanne Goin of West Hollywood’s Lucques restaurant. Ms. Goin won the James Beard award for best California Restaurant! Take THAT Applebee’s of Rancho Cucamonga!

If you are in NYC this weekend, stop by the Culinary Festival!