Duo of Beets Salad with Orange-Basil Vinaigrette
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.
Ingredients
- 1 small bunch red beets (about 4 in a bunch), scrubbed
- 1 small bunch golden beets (about 4 in a bunch), scrubbed
- 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley or mint
- Butter romaine or red leaf lettuce (or salad greens of your choice)
Instructions
- Roasting Beets: preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Cut 2 pieces of foil large enough to wrap up both bunches of beets. 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 the red and yellow beets 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 beets (about 1/8-inch thick)
- Salad: Place lettuce leaves on a decorative platter. Arrange beets atop lettuce with red beets on one side and golden on the other. (prevents red beets from “bleeding” onto the golden). Sprinkle with goat cheese, pine nuts and parsley. Drizzle with Orange Basil Vinaigrette
Notes
Make Ahead and Storage Tips: beets may be roasted up to 2 days ahead. 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.
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.
Another salad that showcases beets you may like is Trio of Roasted Beets Salad
with Apple-Dill Drizzle.
with Apple-Dill Drizzle.