Sexy Beet Cucumber Salad with Whipped Feta
Plus, all the sexy Greek people who got turned into herbs
You may have heard the story of Minthe, a nymph who was turned into an herb and stomped to death by the goddess of spring, Persephone, for encroaching on her marriage with the Lord of the Underworld.
What about the beautiful hunter Narcissus, who fell in love with his own reflection and was turned into a daffodil flower by the goddess Nemesis?
Or Mekon, a beautiful young Athenian man, the object of affection of the harvest goddess Demeter, who was turned into a poppy flower?
There’s also Hyacinthus, a beautiful Spartan prince caught in a love triangle between Apollo and the wind god Zephyrus, and was murdered by the jealous wind god while playing disc golf (discus) with Apollo. Apollo was so distraught that he cried on his lover’s body and the hyacinth sprouted from the ground.
Well, here’s another one! What we now call the dill plant has historically been called anise by a variety of cultures. There are a couple plants that have also been called anise- an asian plant called star anise, that is unrelated to dill or classic anise, a feathery herb that grows well in the Mediterranean climate, fennel, a bulb vegetable, and what we call dill, also originating in the Mediterranean. All have a sort of black licorice-y flavor that is polarizing, but dill is probably the most mild of them all.
A young, beautiful Grecian youth named Anethus was turned into the dill plant, and that’s unfortunately all we know. While it probably wasn’t with the express purpose of us enjoying this salad, we’re grateful all the same. Knowing the ancient Greeks and having rudimentary pattern recognition, it was probably because he was too sexy.
Very Sexy Beet Cucumber Salad with Whipped Feta
This salad has everything; mint (a sexy lady turned into an herb), dill (a sexy man also turned into an herb), and beets (a sexy vegetable for the goddess Aphrodite). Salty pistachios and tangy feta round out the picture and make a dish you won’t be able pry yourself away from.
Makes enough for 4-6 sides.
Ingredients
2 large beets
Salt, pepper, olive oil, for roasting
1 large cucumber
1/2 c. feta, either cumbled or block
1 tbsp milk of your choice- must be unsweetened
Handful fresh dill and mint
1/4 c. shelled pistachios
Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Process
First roast your beets. Preheat the oven to 400. Rinse thoroughly and cut off the beet greens. If they’re in decent shape, they’re great in a salad.
Rub the beets with olive oil, salt and pepper, and wrap both in tin foil. Roast directly on the center rack for 40 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when they are fork tender.
Let them cool completely, and use your hands to slip the skins off. Slice thinly, (1/4” to 1/8” slices) cutting off the root and stem end, and set aside.
Peel your cucumbers and slice at the same thickness. Set aside.
For the whipped feta, using either an immersion blender or a handheld egg beater, whip together feta, milk, dill, and black pepper. When smooth, spread on your serving plate.
Layer the slices of beets and cucumbers alternating so it looks pretty. At this stage, you can also just toss the vegetables in the whipped feta, but know that everything will get stained a Barbie pink.
Drizzle with olive oil, top with salt, pepper, pistachios, and fresh dill and mint. Enjoy!