Raw Root Vegetable Salad

Hi Mati!

It has been quite a while since I have been back in the kitchen.  I apologize to you and my readers.  We were gone for a week and we have been so busy with the Jewish High Holy days that I have not had a chance to step into the kitchen to play.   Our trip was wonderful.  We began our trip in Canada for a good friend’s wedding by a beautiful lake in an area called Muskoka.  Absolutely beautiful area.  We also got to visit Niagara Falls and a little town near the falls called Niagara on the Lake.  A beautiful quaint town with great restaurants and cute shops.  Near the falls is Napa Valley of Ontario.  They have over 70 wineries in the area and we were fortunate enough to have toured one of them.  The area seems to specialize in a type of wine called Icewine which has nothing to do with ice aside from the fact that the grapes stay on the vine until the winter time and they are picked at night, during the winter, while the vines are covered with snow. We tried the Icewine and because they leave it on the vine the flavors concentrate and intensify.  The grapes practically become raisins and make the wine VERY sweet, almost like a syrup.  It is very expensive because you need many more grapes to produce the wine.  The winery we visited is one of the first ones established in the area.  Inniskillin has been around since 1975 and they have beautiful grounds.  We were able to stay for the tasting after the tour, because why else would you go to a winery for if not free tastings!

After Canada we went to Las Vegas to visit A’s parents and spend Rosh Hashana with them.  We had a great time and had awesome weather!  One day talking with my sister-in-law about the CSA they just joined,  we talked about eating beets raw and I started to think if I had ever had raw beets, I cannot remember. So when we came back to Miami, I ran to the supermarket to get some beets to eat them raw.  OMG! They were amazing!  Together with my beets, I bought a bunch of other root vegetables.  Growing up, we used to fight in my house for the celery heart which is the lower part of the celery that most people cut off and throw away.  Do not do that people, that part is absolutely delicious!   So on my run to Whole Foods, I got celery root which is very different than the heart of the celery, but delicious, I got radishes, daikon (oriental radish), and yellow beets.  I learned about daikon at my cousins house a while ago where she prepared a daikon and radish salad with a rice vinegar and sesame oil vinaigrette, which is the inspiration to my own raw root vegetable salad.  I also added an avocado, which is not a root vegetable but gave the salad a nice creamy soft touch.  The combination of the ingredients make this a refreshing salad for anytime of the year!  Here is a picture with the colors enhanced to enjoy the coloring an textures visually! Now go and enjoy them with your taste buds!

Ingredients

• 1/2 of a daikon
• 4-5 radishes
• 2-3 yellow beets
• 1 avocado
• 1/2 celery root
• 3 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Wash peel and cut all your vegetables, just do not peel the radishes.  I used a peeler to slice the daikon just to give my salad a different look and texture.
2. Place all your vegetables in a bowl and add the rice vinegar, sesame oil, salt, and pepper as a dressing.
3. Mix, serve, and enjoy!