Greek Salad with Pickled Beet "Olives"

Ingredients

• 1 medium beets yellow peeled
• 4 servings pepper black freshly ground
• 1 teaspoon peppercorns whole black
• 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds whole
• 1.5 cup cherry tomatoes halved
• 0.3 cup cucumber diced seeded
• 1 large fennel bulb 
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds 
• 3  garlic clove diced
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar white
• 1  bell pepper green stemmed seeded
• 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 0.5 cup orange juice 
• 1  bell pepper red stemmed seeded
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 
• 0.5 cup ricotta cheese low-sodium
• 6 cups the of 1 cos lettuce washed and dried (one 8-ounce package)
• 2 tablespoons sun-dried olives low-sodium chopped
• 0.5 cup water 
• 1 cup vinegar 

Equipment

• bowl
• sauce pan
• oven
• pot
• baking pan
• broiler
• tongs
• cutting board

Directions

1. + To make your pickled beet "olives," start at least a day ahead.
2. + In a small pot or saucepan, mix the vinegar, water, and the sugar.
3. Add theorange juice, mustard seed, and the peppercorns. Bring the pickling liquidto a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook, 6 to 8minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes orlonger.
5. + While the liquid is cooling, cut the beet into olive-size cubes and place themwith the garlic in a clean container.
6. + When the liquid is lukewarm, pour it into your container, covering the beets.Close the container tightly, give it 5 or 6 good shakes, and stick the beets inthe fridge to cool. In 24 to 48 hours, they will be ready to eat and will stayfresh in the fridge for 1 week.
7. + Once your beets have pickled, it's time to roast your bell peppers.
8. Put themin a baking pan and place under the broiler. Turn the broiler to high andcheck every 5 minutes or so to see if the skin has blistered and charred.Then, using tongs, rotate the peppers to blister and char the other sides.
9. Remove the bell peppers from the oven and put them in a paper bag. Closethe top and allow them to steam for 15 minutes. When cool to the touch,slide the skin off the peppers and discard. Slice the fl esh horizontally intothin strips and then chop in half. Set aside.
10. + To prepare the fennel, cut the stems and the bottom nub from the fennelbulbs and remove the outer layer if bruised.
11. Cut the bulbs vertically in half.
12. Place the fl at side of each half on a cutting board and slice the fennel intothin, crescent-shaped spears. Discard the hard core and set the fennelspears aside.
13. + Chop the romaine leaves into bite-size pieces and put them in a large mixingbowl, gently tossing with the red wine vinegar and olive oil. Next, place thericotta, sun-dried tomatoes, and fennel seed in another bowl and mix.
14. + To assemble the salad, spread the romaine on a serving dish or platter.Cover with rows of green peppers, fennel, tomatoes, beet, cucumbers, andred peppers.
15. Sprinkle with ricotta and freshly ground black pepper.
16. + sodium count:Beet: 64mg per beet; Fennel: 45mg per 1 cup, 122mg per bulb; Low-sodium ricotta: 24mg per 1/4 cup depending on brand; Sundried tomato: 5mg per serving depending on brand; Cherry tomatoes: 7mg per 1 cup
17. Sodium Girl's Limitless Low-Sodium Cookbook
18. Reprinted with permission from the publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. From Sodium Girl's Limitless Low-Sodium Cookbook: How to Lose the Salt and Eat the Foods You Love by Jessica Goldman Foung. Copyright © 2013 by Jessica Goldman Foung; cover and interior photography copyright © 2013 by Matt Armendariz. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.