Lemony Beet Salad — Lauren Courtney Heals

While at the Farmer's Market, I found the most amazing bunches of golden, red and pink baby beets that I had to pick up. Without knowing what I would do with them, I headed home and decided a simple salad would best showcase them for the evening ahead.

Monday night was Dinner en Blanc and, as you guessed, everything was white. So my goal was to dress the table in color through food, and what’s better than tri color beets?

Check out this simple recipe with some step by step photos.

Ingredients:

1 lb baby beets
2 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice
1t finely grated lemon zest, plus more for garnish
Sea salt and pepper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.(Note- if cooking another dish at a lower temperature beets can go in the oven as well they will just take longer to cook).

While the oven preheats clean the beets, remove the leaves (save these to sauté) and scrub them. Next wrap the beets in tin foil (small beets can be bundled together, large beets individually).

Place the wrapped beets on a baking sheet (to catch drips in case the beet juices leak). Roast for 50-60 minutes. Beets are done when a fork or skewer slides easily to the middle of the beet. Small beets will cook more quickly than large beets.

Let the beets cool enough to handle. Hold one of the beets in a paper towel and use the edges of the paper to rub the skin away. The skin should peel away easily; if it doesn't, the beets likely need to cook for a little longer. Peel the remaining beets.

In a medium bowl, combine the olive oil with the lemon juice and ½ teaspoon lemon zest; season with salt and pepper. Stir in the beets. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beets to plates. Garnish with lemon zest and serve.

That’s it! This is a great side dish, or serve it with some arugula and goat cheese for a salad.

xo,

Lauren Courtney