There is nothing worse than someone who hates beets. Well, of course there are a million and one things and, of course, I’m just kidding. Beet haters: I was one of you until just a few years ago when I discovered something amazing, groundbreaking…well, just absolutely extraordinary. You can get beets that aren’t in a can.
I know..shocking, right? For some reason, I always skipped the root vegetable section of the local farmers market in recent years. Must have been growing up on so many during the cold Pittsburgh winters, or maybe because I hated the canned version. No matter what the reason, when a good friend of mine cooked me some fresh in the oven….my tastebuds and the wheels in my mind started working!
So without further ado, I present The Social Media Chef’s own Tweet Beet Summer Salad.
Let’s go shopping for the ingredients and this will serve about 4 people as a side.
1 pound of FRESH beets
Small pack of sliced almonds (in the baking isle)
1 fist sized fennel bulb
3 1/2 cups of arugala
3 ounces of blue cheese
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Grab the dial on the oven and turn it to 450 degrees F. Now the beets. I will warn you, these little suckers can be messy. So if you want to skip the red tints in your skin, grab some gloves. I kinda like it, so I just grab the beets and scrub them like crazy and then peel them.
Now, depending on the size of the beets, you want them to be the size of poker chips. Then grab a cookie sheet and put down some tin foil. I usually spray with a little cooking spray to prevent sticking, but up to you. Then place the beets in, lay a piece of tin foil on top and then close like a parcel. Pop in the oven and cook for around 45 minutes. Make sure they don’t dry out or turn black…just sayin.
Now the almonds for some easy toasting. Heat a pan on medium heat, toss in the almonds and keep tossing them around until they are golden brown. Not dark brown. Then place in a bowl to cool.
Let’s make some dressing. Get the vinegar, mustard, salt, sugar and beat them together. Use a whisk…it emulsifies much better. Then slowly beat in the olive oil. When you are done, it should be combined totally.
The beets should be done by now, so take out and cool uncovered.
Get the arugala and arrange it on a platter. Get the beets and pour the dressing over the top and toss like mad (well, not too crazy now). While they are soaking for a minute in the dressing, get the fennel and (using the white bulb only), slice EXTREMELY finely julienne style.
Now grab the beets and arrange over top of the arugala. Then top with the fennel and then the almonds and finally the glorious blue cheese.
I like to serve this one as a first course or as a side dish with full meal.
Ok…so there you go! Did you try this recipe? Was it easy? What would you change. Let me know below or tweet me @thesocialchef on Twitter. Enjoy!
