Roasted Beet & Blood Orange Salad
This has got to be one of the prettiest salads I’ve ever made. THE COLORS!
I am not a picky eater by any means, and there aren’t very many foods that I won’t eat (food allergy safe, of course), but beets used to be one of those foods that I thought I didn’t like. Food blogging has really made me branch out and try new things, cooked in different ways, that I once thought I would never eat.
Raw beets just don’t do it for me, unless they are run through a juicer, but roasted beets are my jam. Roasting them brings out a different kind of sweet/savory flavor that I really love. And when you pair it with juicy sweet blood oranges (my fav of the orange family), ohmygosh you have all kinds of crazy flavors going on.
And because you know I’m weird about texture, I had to throw some walnuts on top, and obviously add in some goat cheese at the end. Because no salad is complete without goat cheese. Drizzle with some dijon vinaigrette, and you have yourself the perfect salad to transition right into fall.
Ingredients
- 3 large red beets
- 4 smaller golden beets
- 2 blood oranges
- 3-4 cups arugula
- 1/3 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
- 1/4-1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2-3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 4-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut the stems off of the beets and place them on a large piece of foil. Fold up all of the sides to make a foil pouch to roast/steam the beets. I made two separate pouches, one for the red beets, and one for the golden beets. If you do them all together, the golden beets will turn red and you will not have as many colors in the salad.
- Place the pouches on a large baking sheet and roast for 45-60 minutes. It will take closer to 45 minutes for the smaller ones, and an hour for the larger ones.
- Once they are done roasting, let them cool for at least 10 minutes so that you can handle them. Once cooled, use a paper towel to rub the skin off the beets, then cut off the ends and segment or slice them. (make sure you work fast with the red beets because they will stain your hands. Wash your hands right when you are done)
- Next, use a sharp knife to cut the ends off the oranges, and then carefully cut the skin off the oranges by running the knife all the way around. Slice or segment the oranges.
- To assemble the salad, grab a large bowl or serving platter. Spread the arugula on the bottom, then top with beet segments and orange slices. Sprinkle the walnuts over the top, and add the goat cheese.
- To make the dressing, add all ingredients into a jar, close the lid and shake vigorously. Lightly pour your desired amount of dressing all over the salad.