Roasted Beet, Orange & Arugula Salad

Thursday August 1, 2013      

Roasted Beet, Orange, Peach & Arugula Salad!!

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Ok, last night's dinner started off, as it often does, with no specific plan in mind and trying to use up the fresh produce I have on hand.  Just thought I'd whip up an ordinary little salad and ended up with this lil dreamboat here, that was so amazing...I couldn't stop patting myself on the back. :)

-Start by roasting your beets at 450 for 25-30 minutes until you can easily slide a fork into em.

Make a foil packet and lay your beets inside. I chop em up so they cook faster and don't bother to peel them either. Drizzle w/ olive oil and balsamic then coat in S&P. I cut a few sprigs of rosemary and thyme from my garden and threw them in there too! Yum!
While those are roasting, get your dressing together and the rest of your salad prepped.

Get your trusty salad bowl out and grate the zest of 1 orange

I start every salad in my big teak bowl. I treat it like a wok and never wash it with soap. I just rinse and rub dry with a paper towel, that way it absorbs all the wonderful flavors you've used in it before. Mine smells like a lovely concoction of ginger, lemon, thyme and rosemary!

Nectar of the gods

-Next, add some olive oil and my current obsession, peach balsamic!
Oh Em GEEE! It's so good! I got this variety when we went to Austin last March at this cute lil fresh market and I should've bought 10 bottles! I could seriously drink it from a glass!
It's super light and fresh and tastes like you just bit into a peach!

-Add S&P and a lil thyme and whisk it up good.

-Now cut up your fruit and add to the bowl. Peel the orange you zested then cut into slices and those into quarters. Dice some peaches or nectarines and toss those in!

 -When your beets are done, pull them out and open the foil and let them cool slightly before you deal with them.

-Add your arugula

 -Then toss in your beets and mix it all up!

 This salad would be great with a grilled chicken breast sliced on top or with a nice piece of fish. I might throw in some fresh mint next time too!

Roasted Beet, Orange, Peach & Arugula  Salad!! 

by Neicy Wagner Geis

 Serves 2

1 Orange, zested then sliced and quartered
1 Peach or Nectarine, diced
5 or 6 Beets, roasted
2 or 3 big handfuls of arugula ;)
Olive Oil
Peach Balsamic
Fresh Rosemary and Thyme
S&P

 Super easy, super fast and super good!! 

This salad would only take a few minutes to throw together if you roasted the beets ahead of time.

And for tonight's adventure, I'm meeting my awesome rockstar friend Heather Dalton at Root Down for happy hour. So depending on how many hours and how happy we get, I should have a new review posted soon ;)

Enjoy your Thursday, my hungry friends!!

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