Name: Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Pistachios
Total time: PLACEHOLDER
Ingredients: 2 pounds beets , trimmed; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 4 teaspoons sherry vinegar; Salt and pepper; 2 ounces (2 cups) baby arugula; 2 ounces goat cheese , crumbled (½ cup); 2 tablespoons chopped toasted pistachio

Why This Recipe Works

Unlike boiling or steaming, roasting this tough root vegetable concentrates its sweetness and turns it perfectly tender. Wrapping each unpeeled beet in foil and roasting them in a 400-degree oven allowed the beets to cook to perfect softness off their own moisture in about 45 minutes. Peeling the beets while they were still warm was easy—the skins slid right off when rubbed with paper towels. To incorporate the beets into an elegant salad, we sliced and tossed them with a simple vinaigrette while still warm, allowing them to soak up plenty of flavor. Crumbled goat cheese, peppery arugula, and toasted pistachios rounded out our salad.

Before You Begin

When buying beets, look for bunches that have the most uniformly sized beets so that they will roast in the same amount of time. If the beets are different sizes, remove the smaller ones from the oven as they become tender. You can use either golden or red beets (or a mix of each) in this recipe.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Wrap beets individually in aluminum foil and place on rimmed baking sheet. Roast beets until skewer inserted into center meets little resistance (you will need to unwrap beets to test them), 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Remove beets from oven and carefully open foil packets. When beets are cool enough to handle, carefully rub off skins using paper towel. Slice beets into ½-inch-thick wedges, and, if large, cut in half crosswise.

Whisk oil, vinegar, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper together in large bowl. Add beets, toss to coat, and let cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes. Add arugula and gently toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to serving dish, sprinkle with goat cheese and pistachios, and serve.