Your New Favorite Beet Salad

July 13, 2020

Modeled off the absolute best salad on the menu at my first restaurant job, this beet salad carries the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness, culminating in a beautifully harmonious medley of fresh in-season ingredients and bright pops of color. It may look as colorfully chaotic as a Jackson Pollock painting, but the flavor profile is the real draw with this summer special. Starting from the bottom, this salad includes a sweet walnut date paste, a mixture of some of the best produce this season has to offer, a tangy blackberry vinaigrette, and a sprinkling of goat cheese to tie it all together. Kept separate, these components keep well in the fridge, making this salad a great toss-together side option for hosting a socially-distant get-together.

 

Ingredients:

6 Local Roots beets, stems and leaves removed (save for another recipe!)

6 mission figs, quartered

¼ cup goat cheese, crumbled

 

Walnut Date Paste:

1 cup walnuts

2 dates

3 Tbsp. olive oil

¼ tsp. salt

 

Blackberry Vinaigrette:

½ cup blackberries 

2 Tbsp. cup olive oil

1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

½ tsp. Dijon mustard

1 small Local Roots shallot, peeled and sliced

¼ tsp. salt

Freshly ground black pepper

 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 
2. Drizzle unpeeled beets in olive oil and wrap each beet in tin foil, piercing foil before placing in the oven. Roast for one hour.
3. Meanwhile, place walnuts, dates, olive oil, and salt in a food processor and pulse until combined. Set paste aside.
4. Place blackberries, olive oil, red wine vinegar, mustard, shallot, salt, and pepper into a food processor or blender and blend until homogenous. Set vinaigrette aside. 
5. Remove beets from the oven after an hour and set aside until cool enough to handle. Peel the skin off using fingers.
6. Slice beets about ½ inch thick using a mandolin or knife. 
7. Spread walnut paste onto the plate using a spoon, top with beets and figs, sprinkle with goat cheese, and drizzle with vinaigrette before serving.

 

Recipe and Photos by Local Roots NYC Volunteer Jess Santoro (jess_santoro)

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