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About this recipe

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Recipe highlight

Why you’ll love it

Deep ruby beets, bright orange citrus, snowy white jicama, green leaves, jewel-like pomegranate, and crunchy pepitas create one of the most colorful Mexican salads you can serve. ❤️

Ingredients

• Roasted beets ❤️
• ❤️ 600 g fresh beets, scrubbed and trimmed (1.3 lb)
• 🫒 15 ml olive oil (1 tbsp / 0.5 fl oz)
• 🧂 ½ tsp fine sea salt
• ⚫ ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• Salad 🥗
• 🥬 180 g romaine lettuce or mixed crisp greens, roughly chopped (6.3 oz)
• 🤍 300 g jicama, peeled and cut into thin sticks (10.6 oz)
• 🍊 3 large oranges, peeled and sliced into rounds or segments
• 🍎 1 crisp red apple, thinly sliced
• ❤️ 120 g pomegranate seeds (¾ cup / 4.2 oz)
• 🌱 60 g toasted pumpkin seeds (½ cup / 2.1 oz)
• 🌿 15 g fresh cilantro leaves (½ cup / 0.5 oz)
• Hibiscus-orange dressing 🌺
• 🌺 10 g dried hibiscus flowers (⅓ cup / 0.35 oz)
• 💧 150 ml hot water (⅔ cup / 5 fl oz)
• 🍊 80 ml fresh orange juice (⅓ cup / 2.7 fl oz)
• 🍋 30 ml fresh lime juice (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
• 🍎 15 ml apple cider vinegar (1 tbsp / 0.5 fl oz)
• 🍯 20 g agave syrup or honey (1 tbsp / 0.7 oz)
• 🫒 45 ml extra virgin olive oil (3 tbsp / 1.5 fl oz)
• 🧂 ½ tsp fine sea salt
• ⚫ ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• To finish 🍽️
• ❤️ Extra pomegranate seeds
• 🌱 Extra toasted pepitas
• 🍊 Fresh orange zest
• 🌿 Fresh cilantro
• 🍋 Lime wedges
• 🌶️ Small pinch chile de árbol or Tajín, optional

Preparation

• 1 Roast the beets ❤️ Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Rub the beets with olive oil, salt, and black pepper, wrap them loosely in foil, and place them on a baking tray.
• 2 Cook until tender 🔥 Roast for 45–60 minutes, depending on size, until a knife slides easily into the center. Allow the beets to cool until comfortable to handle.
• 3 Peel and cut ✨ Rub away the skins from the cooled beets and cut them into wedges or bite-size pieces. Chill them while preparing the remaining salad.
• 4 Infuse the hibiscus 🌺 Place the dried hibiscus flowers in a small bowl and pour the hot water over them. Leave to steep for 10 minutes until the liquid becomes intensely ruby red.
• 5 Make the dressing 🍊 Strain the hibiscus liquid and measure 60 ml of the strong infusion into a bowl. Whisk in orange juice, lime juice, vinegar, agave, salt, and black pepper.
• 6 Add the olive oil 🫒 Slowly whisk the olive oil into the hibiscus-citrus mixture until the dressing becomes glossy and lightly emulsified. Taste and adjust the lime, salt, or sweetness when necessary.
• 7 Prepare the crisp ingredients 🤍 Cut the jicama into thin sticks, slice the apple, prepare the orange segments, and keep everything cold so the salad stays especially crisp.
• 8 Build the green base 🥬 Arrange the lettuce across a wide serving platter. Scatter the jicama and apple evenly over the greens.
• 9 Add the color ❤️ Arrange the chilled roasted beets and fresh orange pieces across the salad. Add the pomegranate seeds and fresh cilantro.
• 10 Dress and finish 🌺 Drizzle the hibiscus-orange dressing over the salad just before serving. Finish with toasted pepitas, orange zest, extra pomegranate, and optional chile de árbol or Tajín.
• 11 Serve immediately 🍽️ Serve the Ensalada de Nochebuena cold with lime wedges. Keep the ingredients loosely arranged rather than heavily tossed so the beet juice does not turn every component completely red.

Timing details

Nutrition

Estimated values per serving.

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