Name: Beet, Apple, and Walnut Salad
Total time: PLACEHOLDER
Ingredients: 2 medium beets , trimmed; 1 clove garlic , minced; 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar; 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard; 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 1 (5-ounce) bag baby arugula (about 8 cups); 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves; 1 cup walnuts , toasted and chopped; 1 Granny Smith apple , cut into 1/4-inch matchsticks; 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Why This Recipe Works

In this Beet, Apple, and Walnut Salad recipe, we found that roasting the beets gave them the sweetest, deepest flavor. We prevented the apples in the recipe from browning after being sliced by simply rubbing them with a little lemon juice. And walnuts lent the Beet, Apple, and Walnut Salad a slight bitterness—but they are high in fat and burn quickly when toasting. To prevent this, we stirred them frequently and paid close attention to them as they toasted.

Before You Begin

To decrease your preparation time, roast and dice the beets the day before and refrigerate them in an airtight container.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Wrap each beet separately in foil and roast until paring knife can be inserted with little resistance, 70 to 80 minutes. Cool until easy to handle, at least 20 minutes. Use paper towels to remove skin and cut beets into 1/2-inch dice.

Whisk garlic, vinegar, mustard, and olive oil together in medium bowl until creamy and fairly smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Toss arugula and parsley with 2 tablespoons dressing and divide among individual salad plates. In separate bowl, toss beets with 1 tablespoon dressing. Top greens with beets, walnuts, apple, and blue cheese. Drizzle with remaining dressing. Serve.