A Salad You'll Want to Eat (Even When Cookies are Everywhere)

Salad shouldn't be an obligation or an afterthought -- and it doesn't always have to be kale, either. Every other Thursday, Elizabeth Stark from Brooklyn Supper will help you make salads you actually want to eat. 

Today: You may think you've lost the ability to digest food other than cookies, cakes, or puddings, but have faith. Here's a salad to offer a welcome respite from holiday sweets.

It feels crazy to be writing about salad in the middle of the holiday blitz. 

But writing about salad is what I do, and there is at least a chance, however distant, that you're pining for one and you don't even know it. You may think you've lost the ability to digest something that has neither butter nor sugar, but have faith. 

I know what I'm up against, so I won't push some plain old salad on you right now. This salad has to count. And this one does. The all-raw line up lends a crunch factor that's beyond satisfying, and the creamy tahini dressing is bright, lemony, and just right for the job at hand. If you'd like to go about the simple business of reintroducing fiber into your diet or doing some pre-cookie bender prep, have at it. This beauty is also colorful and forgiving enough to make an appearance at the holiday table. 

Shaved Vegetable Salad with Apples and Lemony Tahini Dressing 

Serves 6

For the salad: 

1 bunch small beets with greens
3 young carrots, peeled
4 large radishes
1/2 bulb fennel, trimmed
1/2 small red onion
1 small head bok choy
1 large apple
Sea salt and extra-virgin olive oil, as needed

For the lemony tahini dressing:

Juice of 1 lemon (roughly 1/3 cup)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced red onion
Sea salt, to taste
1/3 cup tahini
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Photos by Elizabeth Stark