Who knew that root veggies & citrus pair so well?
Try this Beet & Orange Salad and see for yourself.
Summer, the season of salads. We tend to make many salads at our house, both as main and side dishes in this season. Some have a base of greens; others are a combination of fruits, vegetables, or both. Although we have our go-to salads, such as Caesar, we tend to be creative with our salads. (I guess that’s not too surprising when both adults are foodies, and the kids seem to be following suit.)
Last week, I had created a main dish of lamb and wanted a cool side dish to accompany it. Of course, the obvious answer was salad. However, I had eaten a green salad for lunch, and the thought of another green salad with dinner wasn’t that exciting. So, it was time to have some fun and think about what ingredients would make a fun, colorful, and tasty salad.
Having not used beets for a while in my cooking, they seemed like a great basis for the salad. Once you have roasted them, they develop this fabulous crisp, tender consistency and have a touch of sweetness to them. To give the salad a balance of flavors, I decided to add orange segments for more sweetness and diced red onions for bite. A little bit of homemade vinaigrette would complete the family of flavors.
This salad isn’t labor intensive, but it does require a small amount of time between roasting the beets and allowing the salad to chill. However, the flavors are well worth the time.
- 3 roasted beets
- 1 orange, peeled
- 2 Tb. red onion, diced
- 2 Tb. cider vinegar
- 1 tsp. honey
- Preheat oven to 375. Wash beets, and wrap in heavy duty foil (or two layers of regular aluminum foil). Bake for approximately 1 hour, or until beets can be pierced with a fork.
- Allow beets to cool a little. Using a paper towel, rub the skin off of the beets.
- WARNING: Your hands will become quite purple. Wearing an apron is advised.
- Once beets are cool, cut into bite-sized pieces, and place in a medium-sized bowl.
- Divide orange into segments, and cut segments in half, if desired.
- Add segments and onion to bowl. Combine vinegar and honey in a small bowl.
- Pour vinegar mixture on beet combination, and toss. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
[…] Beet & Orange Salad […]