I have always loved beets!  Granted, as a child and into early adulthood, my exposure to beets were limited to the canned variety or pickled beets.  Both are delicious, but you can’t full appreciate the true flavor unless you roast them yourself.  Luckily, our farmers market had some this past week and I was able to make this fantastic salad.  As a side or a main, this one hits all the right notes of sweet, salty, crunchy and fresh.

ROASTED BEET SALAD

Ingredients

• 4 Medium Red Beets
• 6 Cups Spring Lettuce
• 4 Ounces Semi-Soft Chèvre (Goat Cheese)
• 1/2 Cup Roasted Pistachios
• 8 Tbs. Ken’s Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette
• Fresh-cracked Black Pepper
• Flaked Sea Salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Trim and wash beets thoroughly to remove dirt.  Do not dry them!  Wrap each wet beet individually in aluminum foil.
• Place beets in a shallow baking dish or 9×9 pan and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes.
• Remove beets from oven and allow to cool about 1 hour or until you are able to handle.
• Remove beets from foil.  Unless you want red hands, wear rubber gloves and carefully peel each beet with a knife.  The skins will come off easily like a roasted sweet potato does.
• Dice each beet into 1-inch cubes and place in a glass bowl.  You can refrigerate or use them at room temperature for this dish.  I prefer them chilled.  (HINT:  you can peel and dice beets with a pair of tongs and a knife, but be careful!)
• Assemble 1 1/2 cups of lettuce mix on each of four plates.  Drizzle each plate with 2 Tbs. (or less) of the vinaigrette.
• Arrange 1/4 of beets on each bed of dressed lettuce.
• Sprinkle each salad with 1 ounce Chèvre and 1/4 of the pistachios.
• Top each salad with fresh black pepper and sea salt to taste.
• Serve immediately.

It sounds pretty simple, but the star of the show is the beet!!  I recommend the salad dressing above, but you can easily make your own light vinaigrette.  I recommend a fruity vinegar as it helps bring out the flavor and sweetness of the beets.  I enjoyed this for an easy lunch at home or topped with seared salmon for dinner or it would be a dazzling starter for your next dinner party – how gorgeous would this look on a large platter?!  Enjoy the bounty and eat those red and yellow beets while you can get them fresh.  Dig in!