This avocado and beet salad is the kind of platter that stops people mid-conversation — jewel-toned beet slices and citrus rounds layered with creamy avocado, scattered pine nuts and fresh basil, all finished with a bright, lightly sweetened lemon vinaigrette. It pairs earthy, sweet and tangy flavors in every bite, needs no cooking once the beets are roasted, and looks holiday-ready while staying wonderfully light and fresh.
Ingredients
For the salad you will need 1 grapefruit, 1 orange, 1 blood orange and 1 optional tangerine, 1 medium roasted beet or 2 small roasted beets, peeled and sliced, 1 large avocado, thinly sliced, 3 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted if you like, and a generous handful of fresh basil leaves, plus for the sweetened lemon vinaigrette extra-virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, Dijon mustard, a little honey, grated garlic, fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Method
Start by shaking all of the vinaigrette ingredients together in a lidded jar until the dressing looks smooth and slightly creamy, then set it aside while you prepare the fruit, reshaking it if it separates. Trim away the peel and white pith from the grapefruit, orange, blood orange and tangerine, slice the fruit into neat rings and arrange them in an overlapping layer over a large rimmed serving platter, then peel, pit and thinly slice the avocado and tuck the slices in and around the citrus, followed by the peeled roasted beet cut into wedges or rings and layered between the citrus and avocado so the colors alternate. Scatter the pine nuts evenly over the top, tear the basil leaves over the platter, drizzle the lemon vinaigrette generously over everything just before serving, finish with a little freshly cracked black pepper if you like, and bring the platter straight to the table while the avocado is still fresh and green.
Tips
Roast the beets up to 3 days ahead and keep them refrigerated, and you can mix the dressing and slice the citrus and beets up to 6 hours ahead if you store everything separately and covered. Always slice the avocado at the last moment so it does not brown, and serve the salad right after dressing it for the best texture. For easy variations, swap the pine nuts for toasted pistachios, cashews or pumpkin seeds, add burrata, fresh mozzarella, feta or shaved Parmesan for richness, or serve the platter over a light bed of baby spinach or microgreens — just skip strong onion and peppery arugula, which can overpower the delicate citrus.
