Beets. You either love them, or you don’t. But if it has been awhile since you’ve tried them, I encourage you to give them another chance.

This delicious and beautiful salad is great by itself as a meal, or a perfect first course for that special dinner coming up. What do you need?

Grocery List

6 small beets (I choose a combination of red & yellow)

1/2 cup walnuts

12 cups baby arugula

1/2 cup goat cheese

olive oil

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Out of the Weeds Roasted Beet Vinaigrette – available at Winn-Dixie

The salad is easy, but does take some advance planning for the roasting of the beets and walnuts. Have you ever roasted beets? They may look intimidating at the store with their rough, often dirty, exterior and long leafy stems, but they are really easy to prepare and cook. Simply cut off stems, leaving about an inch of the tail on to prevent the beets from bleeding while roasting, and scrub beets clean. Then place beets on a large piece of foil, drizzle with olive oil and wrap tightly to form a pouch. Roast pouch of beets in a hot, 425 degree oven, for about one hour, testing for doneness by piercing beets with fork. Once beets are fork tender, remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature. To minimize mess, yes, red beets do make a mess, I wear gloves, and peel and cut my room temperature red beets on a paper towel covered cutting board. Peel and cut into 1/2-inch cubes then set aside, refrigerating if not using immediately.

Even though this recipe calls for 1/2 cup of walnuts, I always roast a cup because they are so delicious and my husband loves munching on them. Once the beets are roasted, I decrease my oven temperature to 350 degrees, spread the walnuts out on a baking pan and coat with olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast walnuts for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.  Removed from oven, cool to room temperature, then crumble 1/2 cup of walnuts for salad. Extra walnuts may be stored for up to 10 days at room temperature in an airtight container.

Now it is time to assemble your salad. Simply layer the baby arugula, crumbled goat cheese, diced beets and roasted walnuts, then drizzle with Out of the Weeds Roasted Beet Vinaigrette dressing. If serving this salad to guests, I prepare one extra each red and yellow beet to slice for presentation.

Delicious and nutritious, this unique salad is full of flavor and will impress your taste buds, and your guests. Out of the weeds and into your kitchen. Let me know what you think when you make this at home. And remember, Out of the Weeds Artisan Dressings available at Winn-Dixie, or online at www.outoftheweeds.com.

Enjoy!

Robin