Roasted Beet and Cauliflower Salad
Most of the time I get my recipes by adapting them from other sources and then other times they’re just a matter of necessity. This recipe came about because we got beets in our Full Circle bag a few weeks ago and I wanted to do something interesting with them. I’ve had beet salads a few times when out to eat, so I thought I’d try to create one myself at home.
I would recommend using fresh beets for this recipe. I tried making the salad again with pickled beets and it just wasn’t as good. Roasting beets is pretty easy. Preheat the oven and wash the beets. Cut off the greens and stems. If they are large beets, wrap them individually in foil. Otherwise, wrap several smaller beets of similar size in foil. Put the wrapped beets on a cookie sheet and roast 50-60 minutes, or until they are fork tender. You can do all of this up to a day ahead of time.This salad is best served at room temperature or chilled, so just plan accordingly. When ready to use the beets, hold a beet in a paper towel and rub to get the peel off.
You can cut the cauliflower into florets, but I think cauliflower “steaks” make for a prettier presentation on the plate. The white looks nice on the plate with the beets cascading over it. Cut the cauliflower in to thick “steaks” about a half an inch thick. I found the best way to do this is to cut sections out of the middle of the cauliflower. This is why I recommend getting as large of a cauliflower head as you can. The larger it is, the more “steaks” you can cut from the center without them crumbling into smaller pieces.
Heat a skillet on medium and add 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Add the cauliflower and season lightly with salt and pepper. Brown on both sides. The pieces I had took about 5 minutes per side. Yours may take longer, depending on the size.
Once the cauliflower is browned, take it out of the skillet. While it’s cooling, cut the roasted and peeled beets into bite-sized pieces.
To make the vinaigrette put the orange juice, champagne vinegar, olive oil and salt in a jar. Shake vigorously to mix. You can also whisk the mixture together. Put the beets in a bowl and toss with the vinaigrette.
Coarsely chop the Marcona almonds. I like to keep them in big chunks, so they can easily fit on a fork. I also like the chunks big enough to add some crunch. Then thinly slice the Shallot. Since Shallots have a fairly strong flavor, you want them thinly sliced so each bite isn’t over-powered by onion flavor.
Now you’re ready to assemble the salads. First, put a cauliflower steak in the center of each plate. Then place the beets on top of the cauliflower- make sure to scatter them so they aren’t all in a huge pile. Crumble a tablespoon of goat cheese on top of each plate. Scatter the almonds and shallots on top and finish with a drizzle of the vinaigrette left in the bowl the beets were in. Add salt if you need it.
This recipe makes 2 salads.
Enjoy!
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Ingredients
- 3/4 pounds beets
- 1 large head of cauliflower
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 tablespoon Champagne Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/4 salt
- 1/4 cup Marcona almonds
- 2 tablespoons goat cheese
- 1 small shallot
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° and wash the beets.
- Cut off the greens and stems. Wrap the beets in foil.
- Put the wrapped beets on a cookie sheet and roast 50-60 minutes, or until they are fork tender. Let the beets cool. When ready to use, hold a beet in a paper towel and rub to get the peel off.
- For the salad:
- Cut the cauliflower into steaks or florets. Heat a skillet over medium and add 1 teaspoon of oil. Add the cauliflower and season lightly with salt and pepper. Brown the cauliflower on both sides (about 5 minutes per side).
- While the cauliflower is cooking, cut the roasted and peeled beets into bite-sized pieces.
- Make the vinaigrette by putting the orange juice, champagne vinegar, olive oil and salt in a jar. Shake vigorously to mix. Put the beets in a bowl and toss with the vinaigrette.
- Coarsely chop the almonds and thinly slice the shallot.
- Assemble the salads by putting a cauliflower steak in the center of each place. Top with the beets, goat cheese, almonds and shallots. Sprinkle with some of the vinaigrette left from the bowl the beets were in.
- Add salt as needed.