DifficultyBeginner

When it comes to salads I'm all about the crunch and prefer to use greens over lettuce. One of my favourite dark leafy greens to use is Rainbow/Swiss chard. I grow it in my garden and it grows well even into winter here in the mild drizzly Pacific Northwest. I know not everyone is a beet lover. Did you know that when you roast them, it transforms these earthy gems into sweet treasures. The candied nuts are super simple to make, and are ready in less than 20 minutes. Warning: you may just eat them all before they make it to your salad! Unlike traditional candied nuts, they are only lightly sweetened with unrefined sweeteners. Any raw nut can be used to make these. Many stores now carry roasted prepared beets so if you use these beets you can shave at least 1 hour off the total prep time.

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Yields6 Servings
Prep Time20 minsCook Time1 hr 15 minsTotal Time1 hr 35 mins
 2 cups raw pecan, walnut or other nut halves
 3 tbsp maple syrup
 1 heaping tablespoon coconut oil
 1 tsp ground cinnamon
 1 large pinch sea salt
Rainbow Chard/Silverbeet Salad
 1 large head rainbow swiss chard or regular green/red chard
 1 sweet red pepper, seeded and finely chopped
 8 small beet root or about 1 pound/1/2 kg beet root
Lemon Vinaigrette
 60 ml extra virgin olive oil
 1 ½ tbsp red wine vinegar22 ml
 ¾ tbsp fresh lemon juice12 ml
 1 clove fresh garlic finely grated ( I use a microplane grater)
 ½ tsp sea salt
 1 tsp dried herb of choice (basil, dill, tarragon or thyme)
1

Preheat oven to 375 Degrees F. Line a rimmed cookie/baking sheet with parchment paper. Place all the ingredients on the sheet and using your hands mix well. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the syrup starts to bubble and the nuts are lightly toasted.

2

Once you remove the nuts from the oven, stir so that they are evenly coated with the topping. Place in a bowl and allow to cool and then enjoy. This makes technically more than you would need for the salad but once you taste them you'll want to snack endlessly on them!

Rainbow Chard Salad
3

Prick beet root with fork at least 4-6 times and place in preheated 400 F oven and roast on a tin foil lined rimmed sheet pan for about 60 minutes or until fork tender. Allow beets to cool and once cool remove skins and chop into large bite sized chunks.

4

Add sliced chard, sweet pepper and beets to a large bowl. Pour over prepared vinaigrette and toss gently to combine. Top individual portions of salad with desired amount of candied nuts and enjoy!

Vinaigrette
5

Add all of the ingredients to a glass jar and shake vigorously to combine. Set aside until you are ready to dress the salad. Make sure you shake well again before dressing.

Ingredients

 2 cups raw pecan, walnut or other nut halves
 3 tbsp maple syrup
 1 heaping tablespoon coconut oil
 1 tsp ground cinnamon
 1 large pinch sea salt
Rainbow Chard/Silverbeet Salad
 1 large head rainbow swiss chard or regular green/red chard
 1 sweet red pepper, seeded and finely chopped
 8 small beet root or about 1 pound/1/2 kg beet root
Lemon Vinaigrette
 60 ml extra virgin olive oil
 1 ½ tbsp red wine vinegar22 ml
 ¾ tbsp fresh lemon juice12 ml
 1 clove fresh garlic finely grated ( I use a microplane grater)
 ½ tsp sea salt
 1 tsp dried herb of choice (basil, dill, tarragon or thyme)

Directions

1

Preheat oven to 375 Degrees F. Line a rimmed cookie/baking sheet with parchment paper. Place all the ingredients on the sheet and using your hands mix well. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the syrup starts to bubble and the nuts are lightly toasted.

2

Once you remove the nuts from the oven, stir so that they are evenly coated with the topping. Place in a bowl and allow to cool and then enjoy. This makes technically more than you would need for the salad but once you taste them you'll want to snack endlessly on them!

Rainbow Chard Salad
3

Prick beet root with fork at least 4-6 times and place in preheated 400 F oven and roast on a tin foil lined rimmed sheet pan for about 60 minutes or until fork tender. Allow beets to cool and once cool remove skins and chop into large bite sized chunks.

4

Add sliced chard, sweet pepper and beets to a large bowl. Pour over prepared vinaigrette and toss gently to combine. Top individual portions of salad with desired amount of candied nuts and enjoy!

Vinaigrette
5

Add all of the ingredients to a glass jar and shake vigorously to combine. Set aside until you are ready to dress the salad. Make sure you shake well again before dressing.

Rainbow Chard Salad with Candied Pecans (Paleo Vegan)