Simple citrus beet salad

To go along with our chicken-pesto sandwiches on flax foccaccia I made this very simple citrus beet salad.  Beets are fantastic for you and offer antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and detoxification support for your body (according to WHF), plus they’re great for your colon.  And who doesn‘t love a healthy colon, right?  Beets are also easy to grow.  And they have the advantage of having edible greens which are great raw in salads, steamed, sauteed, stewed, or even tossed into a smoothie.
Ingredients:
5 medium-sized, fresh beets
1 naval orange
5 large basil leaves
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
salt & pepper
Directions:

• Give your beets a good rinse and scrub in a water bath to remove all dirt and particles
• Cut the beets in half (top to bottom).   Then turn them onto their cut sides and slice to your desired thickness (mine were about 1/8″)
• Steam the beat slices to your desired doneness (for the love of food-this should be no longer than 10 minutes)
• Put the cooked beats in a medium-sized mixing bowl and drizzle them with olive oil
• Zest about 1/2 of the orange onto the beets, then peel the orange and break it up into segments, cut the segments in half, and add them to the beets
• Slice the basil into ribbons and sprinkle it over the beets and oranges
• Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately, or store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for a few days

This recipe yields about three 1/2 pint servings.
J