Roasted Baby Beet Salad

I bought a small bunch of really darling miniature beets from Jack’s Farm at the Phoenixville Farmer’s Market and wanted to make one of our favorite salads - roasted beet salad. Roasting brings out the sweet earthiness of beets, making them lovely on their own, but starring in a beautifully composed salad, their flavor really shines.  

In this salad, I especially like pairing the beets with the peppery bite of arugula and the creaminess of goat cheese and walnuts or with a mild baby spinach and the pungency of bleu cheese with pecans. If you have romaine, or butter lettuce or mesclun at home, this would work equally well. I keep the dressing light and simple to complement rather than overwhelm. The oil that you use for roasting the beets can be incorporated into the dressing. You can reserve the beet greens for sautéing or to feed your compost pile.

Roasted Baby Beet Salad

For the beets:

1 bunch of beets, trimmed of greens and scrubbed well, cut in half if large (you want some uniformity in size for even roasting)

a few cloves of garlic, optional (I really love the flavor of roasted garlic, but you might not)

good olive oil

sea salt/fresh black pepper

1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme, 1 teaspoon if using fresh thyme

For the dressing:

½ cup balsamic vinegar

¾ cup good olive oil (or enough oil added to roasting oil to equal ¾ cup)

pinch of lemon zest and 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice (use organic lemon since you will be using the zest)

salt/pepper

For the salad:

arugula, baby spinach or salad greens of choice, washed and drained really well

4 ounces of goat/bleu cheese or cheese of choice, crumbled

2 ounces pecans/walnuts or nuts of choice, halves or pieces

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

To prepare beets: Place beets and garlic cloves in a baking dish large enough to hold them in a single layer. Drizzle with just enough olive oil to coat well (you can then use the beet-infused oil for the dressing), season with salt, pepper and thyme and give a toss or two to evenly coat. Cover with foil and bake in oven until beets are fork-tender and cooked all the way through.  (My baby beets finished roasting in about 30-45 minutes, but larger beets may take up to one hour to finish roasting.)  

Remove the beets with a slotted spoon and allow to cool before cutting into smaller wedges or rounds. The roasted garlic can be spread on bread to serve alongside the salad (highly recommended!), or it can be added directly to the dressing for flavor or just pop them right into the salad.  Strain and reserve the oil for the dressing.

To make dressing: Put balsamic vinegar into a small pan and cook over medium heat until reduced by half - it will become a bit syrupy. Allow to cool. Into a jar with a screw-top lid, pour the vinegar, season with salt, pepper, lemon zest and juice. Add the oil, screw lid onto jar and shake really well to emulsify. Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly.  (Leftover dressing can be stored in the jar refrigerated for a few days, letting it come almost to room temperature and shaking to re-emulsify before using.)

To assemble salad: Place greens in large bowl and dress with a small amount of dressing. Toss well to coat. Plate dressed greens onto serving platter if serving family style, or onto individual plates. Arrange beets on top, garnish with cheese and nuts and finish with an additional drizzle of dressing over top. Season with a bit more freshly ground black pepper and serve.