Vegan Beet Carpaccio

 Noelle Cellini of Lifting the Veil, Podcast & Blog 
  

I love food.  And I love to eat, but just because I’m vegan and Italian, that doesn’t mean life, meals or eating is any less enjoyable. My life and body have become a lot more colorful, healthy, lighter and more aligned since eliminating animal products.   
 
Carpaccio is an Italian d’oeuvre of thin slices of raw beef, so to make this vegan, I served beets.  Not only is this a colorful and beautiful dish, but beets are good for the blood and blood vessels.  Just like their deep, red color, they can help purify the blood and support the liver.  While I cooked the beets slightly, you can serve them raw – just like regular carpaccio!  Cheers to color, fiber, beauty, and health… with an Italian flair!   
 
Ingredients: 
1 medium size red beet and 1 medium size golden beet – try to get beets that are the same size which is ideal when you thinly slice and arrange them on the platter* 
2 tablespoons capers, drained 
2 tablespoons chopped dill (I love dill so you  can reduce this amount if desired) 
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 
2 tablespoons lemon juice 
2 cups arugula 
salt & pepper to taste 
 
25 minutes, serves 4 as an appetizer 
** Quick and healthy salad option for this recipe that doesn’t include any special slicing  
 
* If you can’t find red and golden beets, just use whatever is available as the mix of red and golden beets are for an array of colors on the plate vs. taste 
 
I cook the beets slightly as I find them more palatable, however, to make things even easier (and to preserve all of the healthy enzymes, which we lose when eating cooked food), just wash, then peel the beets, thinly slice them and then toss in the dressing.   
 
To cook the beets, peel them and put them in a pot of water.  Once the water boils, use a fork to determine how much the beets have cooked.  You don’t want the fork to easily pierce them because if they cook too much, they will fall apart when you try to thinly slice them.   Once the fork gives just a little bit (about 2 minutes in boiling water), drain the beets.  You can put them in an ice bath to further stop the cooking.   
 
Mix together the capers, dill, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and salt & pepper.  Once the beets have cooled, thinly slice them using a good kitchen knife or mandolin.  Toss the beet slices in the dressing and serve on a bed of arugula – another Italian favorite and a bitter food that is great for the liver :) 
 
** I make these beets for myself during the week, but for a shortcut, I peel the beets and then cut them into 1 ½ inch cubes.  While the water is boiling, I mix together the dressing and once the beets have cooked slightly, I toss them in the dressing.  During the week, I toss these beets into salad greens (and sometimes add avocado), but it’s a beautiful, quick, healthy option without the presentation and thinly slicing!  Buon Appetito! 
 
For more resources, recipes and healthy tips, check out Lifting the Veil blog, www.Lifting-the-veil.com/blog and podcast, https://anchor.fm/noelle-cellini