Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad
Growing up I was not a fan of beets. The only time we had them was when my grandma would put them out at Thanksgiving. Those bright red canned beets just did not appeal to me. Fast Forward to adulthood and I tried a beet salad while eating out at a restaurant and fell in love. Maybe I just never gave those canned beets the time of day and was put off by their almost unnatural color, but it turns out there are lots of varieties of beets. I like the pink and white stripped Chioggia beets the best. Now that I grow my own beets, I can enjoy roasted or pickled beets of multiple varieties and am not limited to the common Detroit Red beets you would find at the store. Beets are incredibly healthy for you so if you were like me and not a fan, I highly recommend you give them another try. Either by trying out this salad recipe or by growing your own.
Ingredients:
Bunch of beets- 5-6 depending on size or variety. If you have more just roast them all and store in the fridge
Arugula- 2 large handfuls or 1 bag depending on how much salad you want
1 Lemon
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp neutral oil
1 tbsp grainy mustard
Handful chopped peacans
3-4 oz crumbled feta cheese
Recipe:
Preheat the over to 375 F. Make the dressing- combine juice from 1 lemon, 2 tbsp neutral oil, 1 tbsp maple syrup and 1 tbsp grainy mustard and wisk to combine. Salt and pepper to taste.
Chop off the ends of the beets but leave the skin on. It is much easier to remove after roasting. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes until tender. I will also roast them wrapped in a foil pack depending on how many I am making.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Take the skins off by just gently wiping them off with your fingers. The beet should just slide right out of the skins. Either refrigerate overnight or go ahead and chop into bite sized pieces if you want to have salad right now.
Add Arugula to a large serving bowel, top with chopped beets, pecans, and feta cheese. Add the dressing and toss to coat.
Linked below are 2 short videos, one showing this recipe and the second another take on the same type of salad. Have some fun with it. Basically just grow some beets, roast them off and enjoy eating them however you want!
