Recipes

Golden & Crimson Beet Salad

Misc. Salad  Salad  Side Dish  Vegetable 

• 2 large (3" diameter) red beets, all but 1 inch of tops trimmed
• 2 large (3" diameter) golden beets, all but 1 inch of tops trimmed
• 5 tbsp extra-virgin olive-oil, divided
• 4 oranges
• 1 small fennel bulb, trimmed, quartered, cored, and cut into paper-thin strips
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted, husked, and split
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Coarse kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely crumbled Feta cheese

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Place all beets into a metal pan.

Drizzle with 3 tbsp olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat.

Cover pan with foil and roast beets until tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

Uncover and cool completely.

Peel beets, cut into 1/2" cubes, and place in a large bowl, each color on opposite side; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Cut all peel and pith off oranges.

Working over medium bowl to catch orange juice, cut between membranes, releasing segments.

Add 1 cup orange slices, hazelnuts, fennel, parsley, mint and shallots to bowl with beets.

Transfer 2 tbsp orange juice to small bowl;

Whisk in vinegar and remaining 2 tbsp olive oil.

Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

Stir into beet mixture.

Mound salad onto large platter.

Drain remaining orange segments; arrange on salad.

Sprinkle with cheese.

NOTES: Beets stain. Everything. Your hands, your clothes, your wooden cooking utensils. And each other, which is why they're kept separated prior to serving – so the golden beets stay golden. Otherwise, they're very simple vegetables to prepare. You can even roast, peel, and cube them up to a day ahead. In fact, just about everything in this salad can be prepped ahead of time, then assembled at the last minute.

You might not notice any oranges in this photo, because I used Blood Oranges, which I happened to have on hand. But ordinarily, they'd stand out bright against the red of the beets and the white of the hazelnuts.