Beet, Lemon and Walnut Salad

Acid in a salad is crucial: It makes the greens and vegetables in any salad sing, and it cuts through creamy, earthy, or fatty components beautifully. Beyond the juice or vinegar in your vinaigrette, you can add acid with sliced tart apples, orange segments, or pickles. Once macerated to remove their powerful pucker, lemon segments are a beautiful addition to an earthy beet salad. The bits of pulp burst on the tongue with each bite, so you only need to drizzle with a little oil. Use the remaining lemon juice for your next vinaigrette or add to lemonade. Inspired by cookinglight.com

 1 tbsp sugar
 2 large lemons peeled and sectioned (about 3/4 cup)
 4 large beets roasted and peeled (about 5 oz. each)
 ½ cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
 ¼ cup coarsely chopped walnuts toasted
 1 ½ oz vegan ricotta crumbled (about 1/3 cup)
 2 tbsp walnut or olive oil
  tsp flaky sea salt (such as Maldon)
 ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1

Combine sugar and lemon segments in a small bowl; let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Remove lemon segments from bowl with a slotted spoon (reserve lemon juice mixture for another use).

2

Thinly slice beets crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick rounds. Arrange beet slices, lemon segments, and parsley on a large platter. Sprinkle with walnuts and vegan ricotta. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.