You can't 'Beet' this salad!

Photo by Michael Harlan Turkell

Beet and goat cheese salads are so common nowadays that you can get them at Wendy’s. But “The New Brooklyn Cookbook” serves up an alternate take from Greenpoint’s Five Leaves that has two dressings —  one of goat’s milk yogurt and another a vinaigrette — plus toasted macadamias and sliced blood oranges for a fresh combination that turns “the whole thing into the culinary equivalent of an Ellsworth Kelly painting.” Enjoy.

Roasted Beet and Blood Orange Salad with Arugula

From Five Leaves

Serves 4 to 6

For the beets

3 medium red beets, about 4 ounces each, stems and root ends removed

2 medium golden beets, about 4 ounces each, stems and root ends removed

1 fresh thyme sprig

1 fresh rosemary sprig

2 garlic heads, broken into cloves, skins on, lightly crushed

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups coarse salt, plus more to taste

For the yogurt dressing

6 ounces goats milk yogurt

Grated zest of 1 orange

1 tablespoon honey

Pinch of cayenne pepper

For the vinaigrette

2 shallots, peeled

1/4 cup sherry vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

For the salad

1/2 cup whole macadamia nuts

6 ounces baby arugula, about 4 cups

3 blood oranges (about 1 pound), peeled and sliced into rounds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash the beets and pat them dry. In a large bowl, toss the beets with the herbs, garlic, olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Cover the bottom of a square baking pan with the two cups salt. Set the beets, herbs and garlic on top of the salt, cover the dish with foil, and bake until the beets are tender when pierced with a sharp knife, about 75 minutes.

Set the pan aside to allow the beets to cool, then peel the beets and cut them into wedges, reserving half of one red beet for the vinaigrette. Keep the red beets and golden beets separate or their colors will bleed together. 

Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Combine the yogurt, zest, honey, and cayenne in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a blender or food processor, puree the shallots and the roasted red beet half with the vinegar and mustard. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a slow stream, blending until emulsified.

Place the macadamia nuts in a shallow baking dish in a single layer. Bake for three to five minutes, shaking the pan once halfway through to evenly brown. Allow to cool slightly, then roughly chop.

Combine the red and yellow beets with half the yogurt mixture in a medium bowl and toss to coat. In another bowl, toss the arugula with the beet vinaigrette to coat.

To serve, divide the beets and blood orange slices among the four to six plates, top with the arugula, and garnish with the macadamias and a drizzle of the remaining yogurt dressing.