Now that I am responsible for menus on the daily, I rely on my experiences and memory for ideas. It's also no big secret that I love cookbooks, I have so many that I couldn't bring them all to New Orleans! Magazines are great too, especially for seasonal recipes.
I just discovered Garden & Gun, this issue was great! It featured some great breakfast and brunch recipes. Yum.
I love my job! #lucky
While having dinner at Alchemy here in Martha's Vineyard, I got the inspiration for an amazing low carb side dish. I ordered the steak frites and along with the steak they served a salad made with beets, avocado, tomatoes, and bleu cheese. It was all mixed together with a vinaigrette and it looked like a hot pink mess, but it was one of the best things I've eaten in a while. I knew I had to recreate it soon. I recently got the chance to and I wanted to share it because I feel like beets don't get as much love as they should. They are sweet, delicious, and very good for you! What's not to like? If you've never really given them a chance, this is a great introductory recipe because there are so many other flavors and textures to go along with them.
Ok, first things first, take the beets and cut off most of the stems. Give them a quick rinse and put them in an oven safe dish. Fill the dish half-way with water and drizzle some olive oil over the beets. Cover the dish tightly with foil and roast in a 350° oven for 2 hours. When you take the beets out, they will be soft to the touch. Drain the water and cool the beats down with ice.
After the beets have cooled, peel them using paper towels. The skins should rub away pretty easily. If you are using red beets, its a good idea to put some parchment or wax paper down on your cutting board so they don't leave a stain. Cut into desired shapes and set aside until you are ready to make the salad.
Next, prep the other veggies.
Thinly slice red onion
Diced Avocado
Tomatoes
I'm not sure what kind of vinaigrette was used at Alchemy, but I decided to go with a champagne vinaigrette. It has a crisp acidity that I thought would go well with the sweetness of the beets and tomatoes. Red wine vinegar is a good substitute.
Whisk all ingredients together expect for oil. Slowly whisk oil in until it is emulsified, season with salt and pepper.
When you are ready to eat, put all veggies in a bowl with blue cheese. Goat cheese would also work well, and if you don't like either, you could use diced fresh mozzarella. Then add a few spoonfuls of the vinaigrette and gently mix together. Season to your taste with salt and pepper.
I also decided to serve this with steak and potatoes, but I think it would go well with chicken or salmon. You could serve it on top of greens for a bigger salad as well. Enjoy!
Can’t wait to try this!!! I love beets!!!
You won’t regret it, SO GOOD 🙂
I’m looking forward to you making this for me soon. By the way, where can I get champagne vinegar?
Fresh Market for sure has it. I will definitely make this for you!