Beets: Not disgusting

I know it’s getting late in the year (in Wisconsin, anyway), for me to still be pushing peaches, but on the other hand, I’ve decided it’s the perfect time for me to be pushing beets after the delicious bounty I found at a recent Dane County Farmers’ Market (best in the country — just try to argue otherwise with a Madisonian!)

Beet-u-tiful. Oh yeah, I went there.

I know most people have a beet revelation where they find out the much-maligned vegetable actually isn’t disgusting at all, but mine was a little less dramatic than most (Lindsay’s recipe in that second recipe is totally phenomenal, I must add). I didn’t have a strong distaste for beets myself, but I knew about the reputation and largely stayed away from them where I usually saw them, which was in pickled form.

When I ran into these magenta beauties raw at the farmers’ market last year, though, I was intrigued. What could I do with this supper club salad bar staple in its natural, unadulterated form? Well, the best thing to do with a beet, from what I read, was to roast it — roasting enhances the natural sweetness of the beet with a richer flavor and softens the very tough root vegetable (it’s almost like a rutabaga in terms of its density).

This salad incorporates the beets after roasting and is the perfect bridge between summer and winter, incorporating produce from both seasons that may be converging at your local farmers’ market. Summer is lingering just enough in Madison that I don’t feel the need to break out the soup pot yet, so if you’re lucky enough to be in the same position, give this salad a shot.

Roasted Beet, Peach and Goat Cheese Salad

Serves 2. From Allrecipes.com.

Ingredients

• 2 beets, scrubbed
• 1 bunch mache (lamb’s lettuce), rinsed and dried
• 1 bunch arugula, rinsed and dried (really, any lettuce you like is fine)
• 2 fresh peaches – peeled, pitted and sliced
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1/4 cup pistachio nuts, chopped (walnuts work well, too)
• 1 (4 ounce) package goat cheese, crumbled (blue cheese works well, too. I used blue cheese the first time I made this and liked it so much that I totally forgot goat cheese was in the original recipe the second time I made it)
• 1/4 cup walnut oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Wrap each beet in two layers of aluminum foil, and place onto a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until the beets are tender, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Allow the beets to cool slightly, then remove the skins (They should slip right off). Let the beets cool to room temperature, or refrigerate until cold. Once cooled, thinly slice the beets. (Mind the pink juice — it will stain anything it’s left on, from cutting boards to counters to hands).

Place the mache and arugula into a large mixing bowl. Add the sliced beets and peaches; sprinkle with the shallots, pistachios, and goat cheese. In a separate bowl, whisk together the walnut oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper until emulsified, and pour over the salad mixture. Toss well, and serve.