Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad

A lifetime fan of pickled beets, I only recently realized that there is an entire world of beet recipes out there just waiting to be discovered.

Before embarking on a beet cooking expedition, and assuming that beets do not naturally come from a jar, I knew I needed to learn more about them.

Here’s some of what I learned. Beets are:

• Roots with long leafy stems, which need to be removed before eating
• A good source of vitamins C, B, potassium and fiber
• Sweeter with time, but should be used within a week of purchase
• Used to dress hamburgers in Australia

For my first attempt at preparing fresh beets, I decided to start with something easy and quickly found the perfect dish from Vegetarian Times:

Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad
Serves 6

To roast beets: Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line baking sheet with foil. Pierce 6 medium sized beets (scrubbed & trimmed) with fork. Place on baking sheet, and roast 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours, or until tender when pierced. Let cool slightly.

If you are short on time, the beets can be cooked by placing in boiling water for 20-25 minutes after scrubbing, trimming green leaves and cutting into wedges.

While beets cook, spread ¾ cup chopped walnuts (or pecans) in small baking dish, and bake at 400ºF until fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes. Let cool.

Trim and dry 4 bunches arugula, and tear into large bite-sized pieces.

To make dressing: Combine ¼ cup cider vinegar, 1 T Dijon mustard, 1 T thawed frozen apple juice concentrate, 1/3 cup finely chopped shallots, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp ground black pepper. Gradually whisk in 1/3 cup olive oil. Spoon half of dressing into large bowl, and set aside.

When beets are cool enough to handle, peel and cut each into 8 to 12 wedges (if you haven’t already). Add beets to dressing in bowl, and toss well. (If desired, marinate beets, covered, in refrigerator up to 2 days.)

To serve, toss arugula, beets and reserved dressing in large salad bowl. Sprinkle with toasted nuts, and serve.

The resulting salad is sweet, tangy and satisfying, yet I know that it barely scratches the surface of the many beet recipes available. I will definitely continue my beet recipe exploration soon!