Growing up I disliked beets and raisins.
Why?
I think it is interesting to trace our food phobias—trace them back to that horrific childhood memory where one first tasted the foul ingredient. Notice I said “disliked,” not hated, because I really can’t think of a food that I absolutely hate. So my dislike of beets can be traced to the way they were prepared. They were almost always served pickled and from a can. Sometimes mom would make her own pickled beets, but they too were made from already tinned beets, not fresh ones. (We could not grow root vegetables to save our life in the soil of my childhood home, that is except for turnips, but that is another dislike.) Needless to say, I was not too fond of pickled beets.
On further reflection, maybe I will admit to hating beef liver.
Now, on to the raisin-phobia.
Again, phobia is too harsh of a word. My grandmother found it difficult to give up on pantry items. Expiration dates were definitely more of a suggestion than a hard and fast absolute. Therefore, we were often given food, that while edible and safe, was less than palatable. Raisins are on this list. I understand that raisins are a dried fruit, but have you ever tasted a truly desicated raisin? One that is almost crumbly? One that was not even sealed that well to start with and began its shelf life in only one of those tiny cardboard boxes? Well, they aren’t too tasty, especially having been carried around in Grandmother’s handbag for who knows how many years. I remember her pawning these off on us during church. For some reason she always had mini-boxes of raisins and Chiclets gum in her purse to placate us during a long sermon.
But, recently, I have come to love fresh golden raisins. By fresh, I mean they are still plump and chewy (in a good way). I also love beets now.Give ’em to me roasted in a salad. Yum! Even better, let me have ’em raw.
This salad combines the best of raw ingredients.
Moroccan Raw Carrot and Beet Salad
from Moroccan Grated Carrot and Beet Salad from Simply Recipes (ever so slightly adapted)1 c. carrots, grated
2 c. raw beets, grated.
1/2 c. golden raisins
1/2 t. sweet paprika
1/4 t. ground cumin
1/4 t. cinnamon
Small pinch of sea salt
Small pinch of cayenne
2 T. fresh lemon juice
2 T. honey
2 T. fresh mint leaves, tornPlace the grated carrots and beets in a medium sized serving bowl. Add the raisins. Stir to gently combine.
Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the paprika, cumin, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne. Then add the lemon juice and honey and whisk until smooth.
Toss the salad with the dressing. Let sit for an hour before serving, either chilled or at room temperature, for the dressing to seep into the carrots and beets.
Right before serving, stir in a couple tablespoons of torn fresh mint leaves. Garnish with fresh mint.
This is delicious. I want you to stop reading for just a moment and imagine this spice combination.
Now double how good you think it is.
Somewhere I have another raw beet salad that has an orange juice based dressing. It is über delicious too and just gets better the next day (and the day after if it survives that long). Alas, I cannot find where I put that recipe. Maybe I can recreate it and make it next fall when I hopefully will pull a few more beets out of the garden.
These beets came from our garden. I know this picture sucks but I wanted to at least give you a glimpse of just how beautiful they are.
The salad is beautiful. Raisins? I was never scared of them. But onions? Oh my!
Not even purple dancing raisins?????? LOL
LOL my poor nephew – we were making Scooby Snacks which was a recipe for puppy chow but also had raisins & nuts in it. Well my raisins were pretty old and he tasted one before we added it and refused to eat the Scooby Snacks after that. haha! Really old raisins aren’t so good! Although I’ve been known to rehydrate and use them anyway in my baking. 🙂 The spice blend in this salad DOES sound stupendous. I’ve never eaten raw beets so I’m extra-intrigued. I’m adding this to my 8,000 recipes-to-make pins. haha!
8,0001, you mean. I can totally appreciate your nephews point of view.
It’s too bad most of us were introduced to beets via the pickling agents, Debra. Some, never forget it! I, on the other hand, forgave them eons ago, lol…The story of the raisins really hit home. I remember an aunt handing out raisins in church and my sister biting off more than she could chew. An ant! No lie, lol…
Your salad sounds like a wonderful way to get reacquainted with both raisins and beets and of course carrots too. It sure is a vivid color, not to mention, bound to be delicious!
Thanks so much for sharing, Debra…
P.S. Will you be joining us for the Picnic Game?
Louise, I am laughing at the ant story!!!!! Picnic game!!!!!! doh! Will have to revisit this evening if there s still time. Kinda spaced on that I’m afraid. Will check it out as soon as I am able.
We love raisins, esp. my husband 🙂 I actually just a huge bag of golden raisins and going to use them for the salad. Your salad looks super!
Although I have found a taste for raisins, a huge bag would last a long time in this house.
Beautiful! It’s hard to keep the beets from staining the carrots, but you did great! Nice post!
I think maybe it is because they were chioggia beets. Thanks, Mimi.
This is a funny post, you made me honestly laugh out loud! There are a few things I don’t like but collard greens are at the top of the list. I didn’t grow up in the south so, maybe it’s an acquired taste.
That’s a nice salad for these hot summer days.
Well, there are lots of things I would rather not eat, but few things I would refuse (except for liver).
I have always liked raisins, but my Mom told me that I came out of the womb with a deep dislike for beets. But decades later I am starting to eat them. I got hooked on beets in a salad. So there is my story and I am sticking to it.
I think beets may show up a lot in people’s food phobias.
Moroccan salads can be so good. I know a lot of ones with carrots, but not so many with beets. So I’m grateful for this one! Thanks so much.
Gotta love that spice combo.
I made a Moroccan carrot salad a while ago… and totally left out the raisins. Maybe I need to give them another shot too…
I highly recommend the raisins (if they’re fresh—LOL).
I also hated beets when I was younger. But this sounds great now 🙂
You should try it. You might be a beet convert.
This sounds amazing, love all the ingredients!
Thank you, Chris.
For me the phobia is with beets, not raisins. I’ve never had raw grated beets before in a salad, so you’ve got my attention. It sure is a pretty salad and everything sounds delicious!
OK, M.J., you must try this. There is still the slight earthy taste of the beets but the raw texture is great, especially with grated carrots.
Our grandmother’s must be the same – she saved her raisins too! But, a few years ago I tried golden raisins and fell in love myself! The salad looks beautiful! I think those beets you used are so pretty! We just pickled a bunch of beets for the holidays this fall and I have loved them all my life so I would just love this salad!
Truly, raw beets are out of this world, Kelli. Hoarding raisins must be a grandmother thing. Lol
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Sounds like your grandmother is a product of the Great Depression. Millions literally had to hoard and ration food and the trauma was long lasting in their habits. Everything I’ve tried that has the word “Moroccan” in it has been out of this world. This one will be on my list. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, she most certainly was. I will have to tell some of her stories some time about teaching in a one room school during that era and making lunches for the students with whatever the families could scrape together.