Beet Salad With Avocado Fennel Red Onion And Mint Recipes

MY FAVORITE BEET SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Place the beets into a large bowl, and drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Lay out 2 large squares of aluminum foil on a work surface, and place 3 beets onto the center of each sheet. Fold the aluminum foil into 2 envelopes, sealing the beets into the packets; place the packets into a baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Check for tenderness after 1 hour by piercing a beet with a fork. Open the foil, and allow the beets to cool until they can be handled; peel, and slice.
• Lay out the spinach leaves on an attractive oblong-shaped serving platter. Sprinkle pieces of tomato and avocado over the spinach leaves, and top with chopped red onion. Lay the sliced warm beets over the salad, and top with crumbled feta cheese.
• Whisk together balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup of olive oil, and Dijon mustard until smooth; pour over the salad to serve.

BEET AND FENNEL SALAD WITH GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Slice off the beet leaves close to the tip of the beet. Discard the beet greens. Scrub the beets thoroughly, and then loosely wrap each one in foil.
• Transfer the wrapped beets to baking sheet lined with Reynolds Wrap® Aluminum Foil. Roast for 50-60 minutes. Check the beets every 20 minutes or so. If they are starting to look dry or are scorching on the bottoms, dribble a tablespoon of water over the beets before rewrapping. Beets are done when a fork or skewer slides easily to the middle of the beet.
• Cool the beets until they can comfortably be handled. Hold one of the beets in a paper towel and use the edges to rub the skin away. The skin should peel away easily; if it doesn't, the beets likely need to cook for a little longer. Slice the peeled beets into wedges.
• Combine the beet wedges, mache, goat cheese, avocado, and shaved fennel on a large serving platter and drizzle with basil vinaigrette. Sprinkle the pepitas on top and serve immediately.

BEET SALAD WITH RED ONION, MINT AND PISTACHIOS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Preparing the beets: Cut off the greens and set aside.
• Place the beets in an ovenproof dish and add enough water to cover the bottom.
• Cover with foil and bake 1 hour or until they pierce easily with a knife.
• Remove beets from the oven and allow to cool.
• Peel and discard the skins (depending on how young the beets are I sometimes skip the peeling part). Cut them into wedges or slices. *Remember*: Keep the red beets separate from the golden beets to avoid the red beets bleeding.
• Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon of sherry vinegar on the red beets and the other one half teaspoon on the golden beets. Toss to coat and set aside.
• (Read *Note below before starting this step.) Assembling the salad: Wash well and coarsely chop the beet greens. Place in a colander.
• Slice the red onions into thin rounds and place on top of the greens.
• Boil 1 cup of water then pour over the beets and onions. Drain well and pat dry.
• Transfer to a bowl and stir in the mint and beets.
• Drizzle the vegetables with the remaining 1 teaspoon of sherry vinegar and the olive oil.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper; toss.
• Garnish with the pistachios.
• *Note: the photo that accompanied this recipe on the relish.com site shows the vegetables all arranged on a platter in their own little mounds and the ingredients were not tossed together. I chose to serve the salad with each ingredient placed in mounds for a more beautiful presentation. The nuts were of course scattered on top of the salad.