HeartBEET Salad

Photo Cred: Alicia Valeri, LaVie Creative

The corny factor is at an all time high with these heart shaped beets. But the taste is oh so worth it. Happy Valentine's Day! 

I love, love. As you could imagine. Though, I will gladly opt out for the crowded restaurant and prix fixed menu. Let's cook a homemade dinner, catch a movie, go to yoga. Happy day!

I went to Siena Farms storefront on a mission: I wanted to make a warm beet and arugula salad - done. There were so many amazing (and weird) looking vegetables, I had to explore and throw my original recipe onto the cold Boston curbside. Have you heard of a flower sprout, or kalette? Well, it's a brand new vegetable that's a cross between brussel sprouts and kale. And they are the cutest things I have ever seen. It's basically a head of kale the size of a brussel. Scratch the arugula, kalettes are it. 

Probably my most favorite part of shopping local is that nothing is ever the same. This makes for opportunity and a bit of thinking on your feet. Instead of your classic dark purple beet, there were Chioggia beets (candy striped) which are so lovely patterned it was perfect for Valentine's Day. The chèvre I had in mind wasn't available (all sheep are apparently preggo mommies at the moment?) so I went with this goat cheddar curd - softer than a cheddar cheese but more bite than a soft cheese. On my way out, I saw a box full of Cara Cara navel oranges and I knew this would add some additional beautiful color and necessary sweetness. Walnuts to add a crunch, EVOO and some spices for flavor, and voila! 

Directions and ingredients below!

Ingredients (serves 4)

Note: The beet/orange to salad raio is about 2:1

• 4 cups of kalettes

• 4 beets (any kind)

• 2 oranges

• 1 cup of goats cheese

• 1/2 cup walnuts

• EVOO (4 tbsp to start and add if necessary)

• sea salt, freshly ground pepper, garlic powder, crushed red paper: add to taste 

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400*

2. Thoroughly wash and dry beets. Wrap beets together in tinfoil. Roast beets for about 45-50 minutes while you prep the remaining of your salad 

3. Wash kalettes thoroughly, chop thinly and place into a large bowl.

4. Peel and slice orange and add to kale bowl.

5. Chop walnuts, lightly toast on stove top stirring frequently for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Option: sprinkle with some coconut sugar.

6. Massage ingredients from steps 3-5 with EVOO and spices.

7. You know beets are done when a fork easily pokes the skin. When the beets are done, peel the skin and chop into bite size pieces. Heart shapes are optional :)

8. Toss salad with beets.

9. Sprinkle goat cheese.

Try: lightly frying the goat cheese with an italian bread crumb coating, or a gluten free panko. Try this as the last step. It adds some more warmth to the salad with the warm roasted beets. You won't regret this addition :)

Lovingly,

TLBS