Breaded beets on salad - transitioning to spring

Ingredients

2 medium beets, boiled and peeled
1 egg
flour
breadcrumbs
salt

for the salad:
whichever salad variety you like
olive oil
vinegar
salt & pepper


Spring is arriving with giant steps. Around two weeks ago, the singing birds came back from their winter retreat in the south, filling the air with beautiful song and waking us up in the morning with their music. Nature around us changes drastically with every day. Where yesterday there might have been a patch of dried up grass, today is it covered with flowers. First were of course the snow drops, then came the crocuses and now even the first violets and narcissus are blooming. Seared scrubs are coming back to life with hundreds of tiny blossoms, thirstily soaking up the first real rays of sunshine, like us.

With the changing seasons, now is the time to say goodbye to the root vegetables and cabbages of hearty winter, to gradually fade them out and move on to the lighter cuisine of spring and summer. This salad, which can also be eaten as an appetizer, eases into this transition, combining earthy beets with fresh greens.

Boil the beets like a potato and peel them when soft. Cut them in very thick stripes and pat them dry with a kitchen towel. Get the salad ready except for the dressing. While you can use whatever salad you have at hand, the occasion particularly lends itself to the first baby spinach of the year or if you are lucky enough to get your hands on dandelion greens, this is the place to use them.

Prepare three bowls, one with flower, one with the egg (scrambled and add a pinch of salt here) and one with breadcrumbs. Heat oil in a pan on medium to high heat. Cover each beet slice first with flour, then egg and finally breadcrumbs, and fry them on both sides for around 5 minutes total.

Now dress the salad with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, and arrange on plates. On each plate, add two or three pieces of beets and enjoy saying goodbye to winter.

Life is good!