Roasted Beet Salad with Oranges & Beet Greens
Adapted from Bon Appétit, January 2004

Ingredients:
6 medium beets with beet greens attached
2 large oranges
1 small sweet onion, cut through root end into thin wedges
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
flaky sea salt
freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut the greens from beets. Remove and discard stems. Chop the leaves coarsely and set them aside. Wrap each beet in foil. Place beets directly on oven rack and roast for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, until tender when pierced with fork.

Let beets cool. Peel beets and then cut each into 8 wedges. Place beets in medium bowl.

Cook beet greens in large saucepan of boiling water just until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain and cool. When greens are at room temperature, squeeze them to remove excess moisture. Add greens to bowl with beets.

Zest the orange, then cut peel and white pith from oranges. Working over another bowl and using a paring knife, cut between membranes to release segments (this is called supreming).

Add orange segments and onion to bowl with beet mixture.

Whisk oil, garlic, orange zest in small bowl to blend; add to beet mixture and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Serve.

Note: the original recipe calls for wine vinegar. I made 2 batches. One following the recipe to a tee, and one skipping the vinegar as I felt it took away from the amazing sweetness of the beets. I prefer my vegetables to speak for themselves. And the vinegar felt too harsh for me. I found that the orange injected enough tartness into the salad as it is. Lastly, I would recommend, as much as you are able, to use organic beets. Root vegetables tend to absorb pesticides and are particularly susceptible to retaining these toxins.