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4 Comments This delicious recipe for Greek beet salad with yogurt (in Greek pantzarosalata) is perfect for hot summer days. The roasted beet salad is wonderfully refreshing and surprisingly light to eat. Perfect for a hot summer day and it’s one of my favorite quick Greek recipes.
Panzarosalata
The Greek word literally means red beet salad. And that’s simply what the name of the traditional greek beetroot salad means. I love all things Greek. It once was the very first holiday that Tom and I took. To the Greek island of Samos. Long, warm evenings. Ouzo, retsina, fish grilled on a fire at the beach. And of course the country of the famous Greek salad and saganaki cheese! I love saganaki cheese. I’ve got to make that soon too! Anyway, there are a couple of favorites from my time in Greece and this pantzarosalata is definitely one of them. You can use fresh beets and roast them yourself or go for the easy option and use ready roasted beetroot. I think that’s a pretty acceptable cheat for this easy recipe.
What goes into the greek beetroot salad?
The recipe for this delicious pantzarosalata is from the book Mezze and Moussaka by no other than my favorite Greek author Tessa Kiros (Tessa is actually half Greek and half Finnish). Unfortunately the book is no longer available but for any of the other books by Tessa a quick google search will give you plenty of options. Now for this salad you need about 500 g beetroot. Already roasted. A good extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, Greek yogurt, some garlic cloves and pistachio. And to finish it I like some green leaves of flat leaf parsley to finish it.
Simplicity
Making the Greek beetroot salad is simple. Important to know is that you shouldn’t use a food processor or grater. You want the beetroot to be nice and chunky. Not too big but definitely not too small. Other than that it is a simple matter of mixing the ingredients together in a mixing bowl. The beetroot will color everything a beautiful pink color. Combined with the pistachio you sprinkle on top that just looks awesome. If you’re not a big fan of raw garlic you can remove one garlic clove and make it less strong. Or even half a clove can be sufficient.
Additions and variations
While you don’t want to make too many changes to this basic greek beet salad but if you want you can make a few alterations. A bit of fresh dill is always a good idea and you can replace the lemon with a bit of red wine vinegar if you want. Make sure to taste if the flavors are all still there. I like using fresh roasted beets – which can be bought vacuum sealed in the supermarket. You could use canned beets as well for this or even frozen beets will work. Just make sure they are pre-roasted.
FAQ pantzarosalata
You can keep the pantzarosalata for around 2-3 days in an airtight container in the fridge. It will become a little wet but a good stir should solve that issues.
You could change the Greek yogurt into coconut yogurt or soy yogurt if you have a lactose intolerance. The flavor will be very different though so make sure to taste it and adjust the rest of the ingredients where needed.
Fan of beetroot? Or Greek cooking?
Pantzarosalata (Greek beetroot salad)
Ingredients
- 500 gr beetroot roasted
- 3 tbsp olive oil Greek
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2 cloves garlic grated or finely chopped
- 1 tbsp flatleaf parsley chopped finely
- 340 gr Greek yogurt
- 10 gr pistachio peeled and chopped
How to make pantzarosalata
- Cut the beetroot into pieces, not too small and not too big. Don’t grate it.
- Mix the olive and the lemon juice and pour over the beetroot. Mix in the parsley as well, and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the yoghurt and the grated garlic and spoon everything together till it becomes nice and pink. Sprinkle the pistachios on top and serve
Notes
Nutrition Information per portion:
Disclaimer:
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
I don’t see in your directions when to add the garlic. Does it just get tossed in with the yogurt and the beets? Or should I go in with the lemon and olive oil?
He Gina. Sorry yes I see I missed that. It doesn’t actually make a lot of difference when you add the garlic, but I usually add it to the yogurt. I added it in the directions now!
Lovely recipe. Simple yet a little but posher than you get in the average Greek restaurant.
Thanks Phil!