Beet, Orange, and Apple Salad

Inspiration:
Tim's newfound love of beets and allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds beets
• 2 cups shredded beet greens
• 1 large orange
• 2 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored
• and sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon raspberry vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted sunflower seeds, toasted

Instructions:

1. Wash and dry beet roots and greens. Shred greens to measure 2 cups and set aside.
2. Place beets in a sauce pan with enough water to cover. Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and allow to cool.
3. Trim and peel off skins; cut into 8 wedges.
4. Peel and section orange. In a bowl, combine orange sections, beets and apples.
5. Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and garlic. Pour over beet mixture and toss well.
6. Arrange 1/2 cup beet greens on 4 salad plates. Top with beet mixture, sprinkle with sunflower seeds and serve.

Notes: Loved this recipe. It's not for beginners--kind of time consuming--but it's delicious. Next time I'll double the dressing recipe and keep the salad ingredients the same. I may also add in an extra orange.

Tim's Rating: 9/10
Liz's Rating: 9/10

Warm Lentil Salad with Roasted Beets and Goat Cheese

Inspiration:
Bobby Flay and beets from our CSA


Ingredients:

• 1 medium Spanish onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 carrot, quartered
• 1 stalk celery, quartered
• 1 fresh or dried bay leaf
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 1/4 cups dried French green lentils
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 pound slab bacon, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 small carrot, peeled and finely diced
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 4 cups frisee or mixed greens
• Sherry Vinaigrette, recipe follows
• 4 slices goat cheese
• French bread, for serving

Instructions:

Begin by roasting the beets.

Lentils:

Tie onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, and thyme sprigs together in cheesecloth. Place chicken stock in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in the lentils, season with salt and pepper, and reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well and discard the cheesecloth bag of aromatics.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until lightly golden brown. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a dish lined with paper towels. Add the garlic and carrot to the pan and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the cooked lentils and bacon to the pan and stir to combine. Stir in the chopped thyme and 1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Keep warm.

To assemble, place the frisee in a large bowl, toss with half of the vinaigrette, and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the roasted beets around the outside of 4 dinner plates. Divide the greens among each plate in the center. Top the frisee with some of the warm lentils and place a slice of the goat cheese on top. Drizzle each salad with the remaining vinaigrette. Serve with slices of French bread.

Roasted Beets:

3 medium beets (red or gold), scrubbed, leaves trimmed

Olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Coat beets lightly with oil. Wrap beets in aluminum foil, place on a baking sheet, and roast in the oven until cooked through, approximately 45 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool for 10 minutes, and then peel and slice into 1/4-inch thick slices.

Sherry Vinaigrette:

• 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, thyme and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Slowly drizzle in the oil and whisk until emulsified.

Liz's Rating: 8/10

Chard Salad with Bacon, Beets, and Maple Mustard Vinaigrette

Inspiration:
Beets and chard from our garden
as well as
a recipe shared by Beth Jones, Executive Chef of the University of Minnesota Campus Club


Ingredients:

• 8 small, or 4 large beets, boiled or roasted, peeled, and cut into 1-inch dice
• 1 large bunch rainbow chard, well washed, leaves torn and stems finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• 2 T good-quality maple syrup
• 2 T cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 6 slices bacon, chopped and cooked until crispy

Instructions:

1. Toss the chard leaves, stems, and diced beets in a large bowl.
2. In a small bowl, mix the garlic, Dijon, maple syrup, vinegar and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
   
3. Drizzle over the salad and sprinkle with the bacon. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes:
By mid July you are sure to find the bacon, beets, chard and garlic for this salad at a local famers market. When you buy chard and beets, look for a variety of colors. If you buy beets with the tops still attached, wash the leaves and stems and add them to the salad.


My Notes:
This was the perfect recipe to bring to my Community Garden's pot luck. Both the beets and the chard were grown in my garden! I served bacon on the side as many of my friends either are vegetarian, vegan, or avoid pork. You could also add blue cheese, which would really complement the flavors.


Liz's Rating: 9/10
Tim's Rating: 8/10

Grated Beet Salad with Blue Cheese

Inspiration:
Beets from our CSA and this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 8 small beets
• beet greens
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• olive oil
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• olive oil
• 2 scallions sliced
• 4 ounces Gorgonzola

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Scrub the beets and separate them from their tops. Line a heavy baking pan with foil and put the beets inside then drizzle with olive oil. Roast for about 60 minutes or until barely tender when pierced with a fork. Let cool, then rub off the skins with a paper towel. Grate the beets with a coarse box grater and set aside.
2. Boil the fresh orange juice with the vinegar and sugar until reduced by half. Set aside to cool.
3. Wash the beet greens thoroughly to remove all sand and grit, then slice into fine ribbons. Heat a little olive oil in a heavy frying pan and cook the garlic over medium until golden and soft. Add the beet greens and saute until tender. Let cool slightly.
4. Toss the grated beets, greens, cooled orange juice dressing, scallions and crumbled Gorgonzola cheese. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Recipe Notes:
"If a salad can be called rich, this is a rich salad. Beets have a sweet, dark earthiness, especially when roasted, that gets paired here with their own spicy green tops, shredded and cooked with garlic. We crumbled in a little Gorgonzola for savor, too, giving this salad a heft and a richness that we really enjoyed.

The thing that pushed this salad over the top for us, though, was using fresh orange juice for the dressing. We simmered it with vinegar into a concentration of sweet orange that spiked up the dark beet flavors beautifully."

My Notes:
This is so good. It tastes much better than it photographs :)
It was nice to get rid of 2 bunches of beets in one recipe. I have a lot more room in my fridge now! This is my favorite beet recipe so far. It would be a good side dish for a holiday event-- it's so beautiful!

Tim's Rating: 8/10
Liz's Rating: 8.5/10

Beet and Cheddar Risotto

Inspiration:
Beets from our CSA and this Food and Wine recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium beet, peeled and quartered
• 2 cups loosely packed beet greens, stems trimmed
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese (2 cups)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for serving

Ingredients:

1. Place the beet in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the beet greens and pulse until finely chopped.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring the water and vegetable broth to a simmer. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until softened, 3 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in the beets and beet greens and cook for 1 minute. Add the broth to the large saucepan, 1 cup at a time, and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the liquid is nearly absorbed between additions, 20 minutes. Add the cheddar; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring until the risotto is creamy and thick, 3 minutes longer. Serve in deep bowls, passing the Parmigiano-Reggiano on the side.

Notes: It turned out a little al dente, but I was happy with my first attempt at risotto! I actually thought it tasted better before I added the cheddar, and I am the world's biggest cheese lover. It looked so beautiful! This would be a great side dish for the holidays with its festive appearance.

Tim's Rating: 8/10
Liz's Rating: 8/10