Ruby-colored beets add sparkle to winter salad
Fresh Virginia beets, which are in season through mid-winter, add nutrition and color to this formed salad. Chef John Maxwell said the beets “are beautiful; they look like rubies,” and combining them with the beet greens results in a striking presentation.
Baked Beet Salad
1 pound beets, with greens
3 ounces peanut oil
2 ounces apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons minced fresh mint
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ cup diced onion
Salt and pepper
10 ounces goat cheese
2 ounces mint chiffonade—leaves cut into thin, ribbon-like strips
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
Preheat oven to 350-400°.
Remove tops from the beets. Wash and trim greens and refrigerate.
Wash beets, and wrap them tightly in foil. Bake beets for about 1½ hours, until tender. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Remove foil, and rub skins off the beets under running cool water. Chill well.
While beets are cooking and chilling, bring 1 gallon of water to a boil, and blanch beet greens by plunging them into boiling water for about 1 minute and then putting them in ice water to stop the cooking.
Make the vinaigrette by combining peanut oil, cider vinegar, mint, garlic and Dijon mustard. Divide into two bowls.
Dice chilled beets into half-inch cubes. Toss beets and onions in one batch of the vinaigrette. Trim chilled beet greens by removing the stems and any discolored edges. Cut two-thirds of the greens into ½-inch-by-2-inch strips and toss in the remaining vinaigrette.
Chill 10 salad plates. Spread a whole beet green on each plate, and cover each with a 3-inch ring mold. Drain the cut beet greens, reserving the dressing; divide greens evenly in the ring molds, and push down slightly to compact them at the bottom of the molds. Top the greens with the beet and onion mix, pressing slightly.
Carefully remove the molds, and top each salad with a slice of goat cheese. Garnish with the mint chiffonade and toasted walnuts; drizzle with a small amount of vinaigrette.
Chef John Maxwell appears each month on Down Home Virginia, Virginia Farm Bureau’s monthly television program, courtesy of Virginia Grown, a program of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. He’s also director of the Food Service Management Program at the Culinary Institute of Virginia in Norfolk.
To find the station nearest you that airs “Down Home Virginia,” visit VaFarmBureau.org/video/cable.htm. Or view the show online at VaFarmBureau.org/video/video_dhv.asp.