Roasted Beet Salad

This recipe is AMAZING. I meant it. AH-MAZE-ING. Now that MBM has been at the Farmers Market, I've been tempted by all types of fresh local produce.. Today, I couldn't keep my mind off the beets and the memory of my favorite beet salad from the restaurant Biaggi's. I decided I could figure their recipe out - or get as close to it as I could. And you know what? It was a huge success. I really hope you give this one a try. Be sure to get some focaccia or crusty bread to go with it.

Salad
6 medium size beets (red, yellow, or both!)
10 oz. container spring lettuce mix
5 oz. goat cheese, cut into bits
1/4 C. dried cranberries
1/4 C. shelled pistachios, roughly chopped
1 avocado, diced

Honey Balsamic Dressing (courtesy Chinese Grandma)
2 Tbsp. honey
1/4 C. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
3/4 C. olive oil


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Rinse the beets and wrap together in tinfoil. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes. Allow to cool, then peel off the skins and dice into small cubes.

Next, make the dressing. Using a stick blender (the greatest invention ever), blend together the honey, vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper. With the blender running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. As long as you do this slowly, the dressing will properly emulsify and become one cohesive mixture. If you pour in the oil too fast or whisk by hand, you will most likely end up with a dressing that will separate as it sits.

Lastly, assemble the salad. In a large serving bowl, fill first with the lettuce, then top with the beets, goat cheese, cranberries, pistachios, and avocado. I like to keep the dressing on the side so that guests can choose their own amount. You can also toss all ingredients together prior to serving, but this will end up getting purple beet juice on everything, so it looks prettier if wait to do so (hence, what you see in my picture).