Our “Pumpkin Week” kickoff of the fall season notwithstanding, this is the recipe that launches us headlong into Autumn. It’s based on a recipe that appeared in the January 2011 issue of Food & Wine which was itself an adaptation of a Chef George Mendes original recipe that featured some pretty fancy pants ingredients. As much as we appreciate quality ingredients, we appreciate even more being able to put great tasting (and looking) food on the table without having to take out a loan before you go to the market. To that end, the recipe has been adapted even further from the budget-friendly offering by F&W. Making beautiful and expert use of relatively inexpensive ingredients, the finished dish is a symphony of fall flavors, textures and colors.
With the garnet earthiness of the roasted beets, the verdant crispness of the apples, the creamy bite of a good, pungent blue cheese and the tangy, acidic punch of the vinaigrette, it’ll be hard to pin down your favorite element of this beautiful vegetarian salad.
The recipe called for toasted pistachios and prepared horseradish, which always pairs so perfectly with roasted beets, but true to form (for us, anyway), the horseradish jar was nearly empty and the only nuts we had on hand were walnuts. *sigh* With the plethora of other elements in the vinaigrette, the horseradish wasn’t really necessary . (Unless, of course, you’re married to the heat that it would impart, which normally we are, but enough with the heat already. Oy.) Also, the walnuts toasted up nicely to add another welcome textural element and a perfect savory note to the salad.
Actually, feel free to use whatever nuts you might have on hand, family not included, of course. Almonds or pecans would work perfectly and any adjustment that saves you a trip to the store and helps you use up any ingredients lingering in the pantry or fridge after previous cooking adventures is a definite plus.
One other adjustment to the vinaigrette was to add a little agave nectar. Honey would work just as well if that’s what you have on hand. What with the bite of the dijon mustard and the acidity of the cider vinegar, that little touch of sweetness adds a wonderful and much needed balance.
While we love how blue cheese plays so nicely with basically every savory fall flavor we can think of, we also can’t help but think that goat cheese would be just as fantastic in this salad. If you’re in need of a first course for a fabulous vegan feast, simply eliminate the cheese altogether, use the agave instead of honey, and voilá, you’re in business.
The only down side to this recipe (if you can even call it a “down side”) is that the beets require a fairly long roasting time. We wouldn’t be us if we didn’t offer a way around that, though. The F&W version called for a whole extra hour of roasting time than we do. Silly magazine. We bumped up the oven temperature by 25 degrees and cut the beets into wedges before they went into the pan. That knocked that hour off pretty easily. Further, you can also prepare the beets and the vinaigrette a day or two in advance. This has a couple of advantages. Firstly, this cuts the prep time for the salad down to about 10 minutes. In the time it takes you to slice the apples and toast the nuts, you can be ready to eat. Also, letting the roasted beets hang out in the vinaigrette for that extra time allows them to develop some truly spectacular flavor.
Just be sure to store any leftover components separately, otherwise—while the taste will still be stellar—the beets will “bleed” all over everything else and the salad will look a little crime scene-ish. No bueno, considering part of the appeal of this salad is its contrast of seasonal colors. If you find a better way to welcome the cooler weather than this gluten free, soy free, potentially dairy free, vegetarian stunner of a salad, let us know. Until then, we’ll be over here licking our plates.
Adapted from Food & Wine.
- 3 large beets (about 2 pounds, peeled and cut into wedges)
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- ¼ cup apple-cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon agave nectar or honey
- ⅓ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
- 1 green apple, cored and thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup crumbled blue cheese
- ¼ cup baby kale or other greens, for garnish
- Preheat the oven to 400°. In a baking dish, lightly drizzle the beets with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and roast until the beets are tender, about 40 to 45 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk the vinegar, mustard and agave. Whisk in the remaining ½ cup of oil until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper and toss with the beets. Transfer the beets to a platter, top with the walnuts, apple, blue cheese and greens and serve.
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