Trio of Roasted Beets Salad with Apple-Dill Drizzle
If your only experience with beets has been eating them pickled out of jar, then it’s time you tried them roasted. This slow-cooking method gives beets a pleasing texture without the cloyingly sweet taste commercial pickling provides. New to the beautiful Chioggia beet? Check out MPM Mini-Bites below…
Ingredients
- 1 bunch golden beets scrubbed
- 1 bunch red beets scrubbed
- 1 bunch Chioggia beets scrubbed (if not available, choose another bunch of red or golden)
- 1 Granny Smith apple cored, seeded and cut into thin wedges
- 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
- About 1/4 cup fresh dill sprigs
- Butter romaine or red leaf lettuce (or salad greens of your choice)
- Foil
Instructions
Roasting Beets:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Cut 3 pieces of foil large enough to wrap up each bunch of beets separately.
- Trim beets, leaving 1-inch of the stems. (Reserve the leaves and stems for another use such as sautéing or for soups and stocks.)
- Place each type of beet on separate pieces of foil and wrap tightly.
- Roast beets for 25 minutes. Carefully unwrap foil and pierce a few beets with a fork. If not very soft, re-wrap and continue roasting or until very tender. Depending on the size of the beets, roasting may take up to 15 minutes longer. (sometimes more)
- Allow wrapped beets to cool, about 15 minutes. Unwrap foil.
- Cut off tops of beets, discarding stems. Slip off skins with your fingers or a paring knife, discarding skins.
- Thinly slice (about 1/8-inch thick) and/or cut beets into wedges. (I cut them both ways for a pretty presentation!)
Assemble Salad:
- Place lettuce leaves on a platter. Arrange beets atop lettuce being careful not to overlap too much. (prevents red beets from “bleeding” onto the golden).
- Decoratively arrange apple slices, goat cheese and dill sprigs with beets.
- Drizzle with Apple-Dill Vinaigrette.
Notes
Make Ahead and Storage Tips: beets may be roasted up to 3 days ahead. (Store separately.) Cover and refrigerate. Salad is best assembled no more than 1 hour before serving to prevent any “bleeding” of red beet juices into the salad. Store leftover salad covered, in the refrigerator. Use within 1 day.
A Little Beet "Savvy!" Chioggia beets (pronounced kee-OH-gee-uh) are an heirloom variety originating from Italy, recognized for their striking candy cane-like flesh. Their spiraling stripes can be very distinct (or more muted as depicted in my photograph). They are generally sweeter than red beets and as a rule do not “bleed” as much when cut. Chioggia beets can be prepared in the same ways as any other variety. Read more about this beautiful beet here.
Look for beets that have healthy-looking green leafy tops which signify freshness. When trimming beets, don’t throw away those greens as they contain a powerhouse of nutrients such as fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, Vitamins A and C. Beet greens and stems are delicious sautéed or save them for adding to soups and stocks.
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