Beets are wonderful winter fare! They’re actually at their best late in the season, when they’ve had time to accumulate the natural sugars and earthy flavors they’re so famous for. With this Roasted Beet Salad recipe, you can bring out all their virtues with a quick roasting session, and a drizzle of delicious vinaigrette. Enjoy!
Tips for Making Roasted Beets
You want to choose fresh beets to roast when you shop for your roasted beet salad. Look for beets that are firm, smooth, and have a vibrant color: a beautiful golden or rich, deep magenta. Smaller to medium-sized beets tend to be more tender and cook faster than larger ones. When you start to prepare them, cut off the beet greens and trim the root end. But, don’t cut off too much. You want to leave enough to keep the beets from “bleeding” too much during roasting. The beet stems can also be greens in another salad instead of being thrown out! Though when you make an ordinary salad, you might peel the beets first, when you roast them, the protocol will be different. You won’t want to peel the beets until they’re done, since the skin will be much softer after roasting.
Roasted Beet Salad with French Vinaigrette
Description
Roasted beets of different colors merge with creamy ricotta and a flavorful vinaigrette.
Ingredients
- Fresh beets
For the vinaigrette:
- 4 tbsps walnut oil
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsps finely minced shallots
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp sugar
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
For the whipped ricotta:
- 16 oz whole milk ricotta
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 ½ tsp grated orange zest
- 3 tsp honey
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Wash the beets thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels. Cut off any greens from the top. Rub a little oil on the skin and wrap loosely with the foil pinching the edges to seal tightly. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 40 minutes, checking after 20 minutes to rotate the beets. They will be done when a knife can be inserted easily into the middle.
- Once cooled, you can unwrap and slice them thinly. Make certain to keep the red and yellow beets separately until ready to use so that the colors don’t bleed.
- To assemble, place a schmear of the whipped ricotta on the bottom of a serving plate, top with the beet slices and orange segments, sprinkle on the arugula, pea shoots, and walnuts. Top with the vinaigrette immediately before serving
Recipe and Styling by Veda Sankaran
Photography by Dave Bryce
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