Roasted Beet and Walnut Salad - A vibrant addition to your winter menu!
January 10, 2021
I love a good beet salad and nothing is more classic than beets with walnuts. After seeing the incredible variety of colorful carrots in the warehouse this week, I decided to bring them to the salad party as well. The true star in this salad is the black strap molasses vinegar from Spoiled Rotten Vinegar. It is sweet and robust, with just the right amount of acidity to help the earthiness of the beet shine. The latest batch of SLO farm apples add a lovely crunch. I like to make a huge batch of this salad and keep it in my fridge to snack on throughout the day. Because there is no lettuce, all of the ingredients continue to soak up the dressing in the most wonderful way. I hope you love it as much as I do!
Sweet, earthy beets are slow roasted in the oven until tender and then marinated with black strap molasses vinegar and olive oil. Shaved ribbons of rainbow carrots, fennel and crispy apple form a bed for the tender beets to rest on. Topped with Deck Family Farm's candied walnuts, crumbled feta and a dusting of freshly cracked pepper... what's not to like?
Rinse the beets well and cut off the stems and top so they are flat on both sides. Set them in a tall baking dish and pour enough water into the dish to come 1" up the beet. Add 1/4 cup of Black Strap Vinegar and a sprinkle of salt. Cover the beets with tin foil and roast them until they are tender when punctured with a fork, about one hour. Allow them to cool covered. Use a spoon to remove the skin of the beets. Cut them into bite sized pieces and toss them with 2 Tbsp Blackstrap Vinegar, 2 Tbsp of olive oil and a little more salt. This can be done a day ahead of time. The beets will only get more delicious as they rest in their marinade. They must be fully cooled before making the salad.
To Make the Salad
Finely sliced the shallot and place it at the bottom of your salad bowl with 3 Tbsp Blackstrap Vinegar and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Allow the shallots to pickle while you prepare your remaining salad ingredients.
Cut the green stems off of the fennel bulb. Cut it in half lengthwise and slice into thin half moons. Cut the apples into bite sized chunks. Use a vegetable peeler to shave ribbons of the rainbow carrots. Place them in a small mixing bowl with the fennel and apples and toss them with 2 Tbsp olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Place the fennel, carrots and apples in the bowl with the shallots and mix well. Top with the marinated beets and then add the crumbled feta and chopped candied walnuts. Use the fronds from the fennel to decorate the top and freshly crack a bit of pepper over the whole glorious salad! Enjoy immediately or the next day!
