Roasted Beets and Walnut Salad
Jacob Bailey
by Katherine Deumling of Cook With What You Have
Beets take a while to cook and a little goes a long way with beets. I tend to roast all the beets I have at once and then use a bit here and there in different preparations the following days. I like the flavor of roasted beets best though boiled is quicker and good too.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
1 bunch beets, trimmed of beat greens and scrubbed but not peeled. If they’re large I cut the beets in halves or quarters.
Place the beets in a large sheet of aluminum foil. Sprinkle with a little water and then fold the foil over and tuck it into itself to create a nicely sealed package. Place packet on a sheet pan in the hot oven. Roast for about 45 minutes (depending on size of your chunks of beet). A tester should easily pierce the beet.
Remove from oven, open package and let cool until you can handle them. Now the skin will come off easily. Peel beets. If you’d like toss them when still warm with a little red wine or sherry vinegar and a bit of salt. Beets do well with a little acidity and if you toss them in oil first the vinegar won’t get absorbed.
Now you can add them to salads or dishes of many kinds.
Beet and Walnut Salad
This is a classic combination and deservedly so.
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons red wine or sherry vinegar
- 3-4 tablespoons walnut or good olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1 bunch beets, trimmed and roasted (see above), cooled and cubed
- ¼ cup toasted walnuts, broken up
- 2-3 cups fairly finely torn lettuce (optional)
- 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
Mix everything, except the cheese, together well, adding the lettuce at the very end, if using. Sprinkle with the blue cheese and serve.