A Great Beet Salad

My husband is practically perfect in every way except one.  He doesn’t like beets.  He thinks they taste like dirt.  I mean, have you ever?!  I on the other hand could live on beets.  I think they are absolutely delicious.  Since he is out of the house today, I have taken this opportunity to cook with beets!

The inspiration for today’s recipe came from a beet salad I've had before at one of our favorite local restaurants.  They suddenly stopped offering the salad around a year ago; completely ignoring my pleas for its return.  What I remember most about the salad was the fresh flavor of mint and the crunch of toasted hazelnuts.  I also remember that ricotta cheese was used instead of the requisite goat cheese.  The recipe I came up with is below.  I just finished making and eating my salad and am thrilled with the results.  The dressing is nice and light so the flavors of the beets and mint really come through.   The added bonus here is that beets will be at your local farmer’s markets for a while.  Enjoy!

Beet Salad with Ricotta, Hazelnuts and Mint

2 bunches of beets, scrubbed

Olive oil

½ cup ricotta cheese

8-10 mint leaves torn into small pieces

4 cups arugula

1/3 cups hazelnuts

dressing

1 Tbs. orange juice

1 Tbs.  Champagne vinegar (you can substitute rice wine vinegar)

3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

·      Toss the beets in a little olive oil and roast them on a baking sheet for 45-50 minutes at 375 degrees.  While the beets are roasting, toast the hazelnuts by placing them in a pan over medium low heat. Nuts can burn quite easily so keep your eye on them and shake the pan from time to time.  They should only take 2-3 minutes to be toasted properly.  Place the toasted nuts in a clean dishtowel and rub off the skins using the towel.  Cut each hazelnut in half and let cool.

·      Let the beets cool to room temperature.

·      Make the dressing.  Whisk together the orange juice and the vinegar.  Continue whisking while you slowly drizzle in the olive oil.  Season generously with salt and pepper.

·      Peel the beets with a paring knife.  The skins should come off pretty easily.  Quarter the beets if they are small or cut into a large dice if they are large sized. Toss the beets with 1 Tablespoon of the dressing, check again for seasoning and set aside.

·      Toss the arugula and mint with the remaining dressing being careful not to overdress.  Place a mound of the arugula mint mixture on 4 individual plates.  Top each portion with some of the beets, and then a few dollops of the ricotta (1/2 teaspoon sized dollops).  Garnish the salad with a tablespoon or so of the hazelnuts and serve.  Makes 4 servings.