Rødbetesalat (Norwegian Beetroot Salad)

Rødbetesalat (Norwegian beetroot salad) is a staple of the salad world in Norway and Sweden, but is something that you rarely seem to see in Nordic cookery books. Maybe it's the rustic simplicity of the the salad, or that it's considered a bit too everyday, but I wanted to rectify that wrong and share my rødbetesalat recipe with you.

Beetroot is a popular ingredient in Nordic cooking and particularly in Sweden. Its often roasted, made into soups and most frequently pickled and put on a smørbrød or knekkebrød with cheese or cold meat.

Rødbetesalat combines the fresh earthiness of beetroot with a creamy dressing and pairs beautifully with cheese, cured meats or pickled herring. All very Nordic!

I like to use fresh beetroot in my rødbetesalat but you can use pickled beetroot instead. You won't need the lemon juice if you use pickled beetroot.

Rødbetesalat (Norwegian Beetroot Salad), serves 6

Ingredients

400g / 14 oz beetroot, either fresh or pickled

1 apple, cored and chopped into small dice. There is no need to peel the apple.

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 teaspoons lemon juice

75g / 2.5 oz mayo

75g / 2.5 oz sour cream

salt, pepper

2 teaspoons chopped chives

Method

If using fresh beetroot, peel it and cook in boiling salted water for about 20 minutes until its just tender. Drain and allow to cool. If you are using pickled beetroot you omit this part.

Cut the beetroot into dice about 1cm / 1/2 inch square and put in a bowl with the lemon juice. Leave the lemon juice out if you are using pickled beetroot. Core the apple and chop into cubes the same size as the beetroot. Toss them together with the lemon juice.

In a separate bowl combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, chopped chives and onion. Stir in the beetroot and apple and season to taste with salt and pepper. It's as simple as that!

Rødbetesalat is great eaten immediately, but keeps for several days in the fridge to enjoy later on.

Vær så god!!

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