Roasted Golden Beet Salad
It’s a classic with a twist. This roasted golden beet salad has all of the flavors: earthy, sweet, tangy, creamy, bright, peppery, grassy.
Wait, wait, wait, stop. Don’t turn away. This isn’t your great grandma’s canned beets at Thanksgiving. This is updated and fresh and luscious and perfect.
And these golden beets. I mean, how pretty are they?
These beets, when roasted, take on a mellow, sweet, earthy flavor and have a beautifully smooth texture. Because of all of that, it goes magically well with bright flavors like parsley and, mmmmm, balsamic vinegar. And then to wrap it all up in a perfect little package of mouth-happiness, my secret ingredient is coconut milk. Sounds totally weird, right? But it’s SO NOT WEIRD! See, I came across this combination totally by accident. My friend had introduced me to the roasted beet/balsamic combo with chèvre a while back, and I pretty much ate the whole platter by myself. (#noshame) And just the other day while I was grocery shopping, I saw the beets and … that salad. It was a need. So I got home and promptly scrubbed and roasted my beets and prepped everything else, and realized I forgot to buy the cheeeeeeeeeeeeeese. The salad was in desperate need of creamy. And out of the corner of my eye I saw my can of coconut milk and wondered. But that tangy, crumbly, bold bite of goat cheese couldn’t possibly be replaced by creamy, subtly sweet coconut milk, could it? Oh but honey, it can. The grassy brightness of the parsley and the ultra tangy balsamic dressing with little pops of whole grain mustard balance it so well, and heaven. Just heaven.
Make sure you use a light hand with the coconut milk. We’re going for subtle. You want to think, “ooooh, what is that glorious hint of exotic?” not, “dang. coconutty.” Whatever you do, though, try it. You won’t regret it.
- 2~3 medium golden beets*
- extra virgin olive oil for roasting beets
- a few large handfuls of spring mix**, washed and dried
- 6~8 sprigs of flat leaf parsley, stems discarded, and leaves left whole.
- 2~3 teaspoons coconut milk per serving
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons good quality Balsamic Vinegar
- pinch of salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 1/2~1 teaspoon raw honey
- 1 small clove or 1/2 medium clove garlic, grated
- 1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Scrub the beets well, cut off the top just below where the leaves begin and also cut off the little tail on the bottom end. Discard the tail and keep the leaves for another use.*** Place each beet on a sheet of parchment paper on top of foil (large enough to wrap around the entire beet), and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Cover with the parchment lined foil. Repeat with remaining beets. Place the covered beets on the rimmed baking sheet and roast in the oven until tender, 50~60 minutes, depending on size. Let cool slightly, and, using a clean kitchen towel or paper towel, rub off the skins. They should come off easily. Let cool completely.
- In a medium jar with a tight fitting lid, combine all of the dressing ingredients and shake aggressively. Set aside to allow flavors to marry.
- In a large bowl, place the salad greens, topped with parsley. Cut the beets into bite sized pieces and scatter evenly over the greens. Give the dressing another quick shake and drizzle over the salad. Toss the salad and serve immediately. When serving, drizzle 2~3 teaspoons of coconut milk over each serving.
- *you can absolutely use red beets for this. Or a combination of the two would be beautiful!
- **I prefer brands that have baby arugula in the blend. That peppery bite goes really well with this salad. Check the ingredient label on the packaging to see if arugula is included.
- ***You can clean them and use them in almost any sautéd greens-type dish. Delicious.
Laura
May 2, 2016
A woman after my own heart! This salad looks heavenly! I know what I need to pick up at the market tomorrow!
Lillian
May 17, 2016
So excited for you to try it! Enjoy!