In Amy Chaplin's salads, the vegetables are in the dressing. This is just one version of the raw beet dressings from her book Whole Food Cooking Every Day, where she combines sweet beets with cashew butter and red chiles to create a rich, creamy sauce.

　　

Ingredients

Beet dressing (base recipe):

1 small-medium cooked and cooled red beet

　　1/4 cup filtered water

　　3 Tbsp. raw cashew butter, coconut butter, or tahini

　　2 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. raw apple cider vinegar

　　2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

　　1 (1/4-inch) slice of a large garlic clove

　　1/2 tsp. fine sea salt, plus more to taste

　　

Tangy beet-cashew dressing with chile:

1 recipe Beet Dressing, using raw cashew butter

　　1 small red chile, seeded and chopped

　　

Base dressing:

Step 1

Put the beet, water, nut or coconut butter or tahini, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, and salt in an upright blender and blend until completely smooth. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula and blend again. Adjust the seasoning to taste and blend again. Use immediately, or store in a glass jar in the fridge for up to 3 days. Shake well before using. The dressing will thicken once chilled; thin it out with a little water if needed.

　　

Tangy beet-cashew dressing with chile:

Step 2

Make the dressing following the instructions for the base recipe, adding the chile to the blender along with the other ingredients.

　　Excerpted from Whole Food Cooking Every Day: Transform the Way You Eat with 250 Vegetarian Recipes Free of Gluten, Dairy, and Refined Sugar © 2019 by Amy Chaplin. Photography © 2019 by Anson Smart. Reproduced by permission of Artisan Books. All rights reserved.Buy the full book from Amazon.