Roasted Beets by Mike

Have you ever had an unforgettable salad? Are you looking for a delicious way to make your meals healthier? Look no further than our friend Mike’s sexy salad recipe!

An important note from Mike on a quick substitute, “I can’t wait for you to make it. I changed the candied pecans because most people don’t have Aleppo pepper in their pantry.”

Ingredients:

Salad

3 bunches of small to medium beets, tops trimmed and scrubbed OR 3 small packages cooked beets, sliced to save time

3 tablespoon EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

Baby salad greens such as spinach, mixed greens or arugula

1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese

Honey balsamic dressing

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Candied pecans

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon chili flakes (add less if you like it less spicy)

1 egg white

1 tablespoon water

1 lb pecan halves (you could also use almonds, pine nuts, walnuts etc.)

Instructions:

Candied pecans:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F

• Mix sugar, cinnamon, chili flakes, and salt together in a bowl.

• Whisk egg white and water together in a separate bowl until frothy. Toss pecans in the egg white mixture. Mix sugar mixture into pecan mixture until pecans are evenly coated. Spread coated pecans onto a baking sheet.

• Bake in the preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, until pecans are evenly browned, 1 hour. As they cool, they will harden and candy.

Salad:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

• Rub the outside of each beet with some of the olive oil then place beets in roasting pan. Pour 1 cup of water into roasting pan. Cover with foil.

• Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until beets can be easily pierced with a knife. Let cool, peel and slice.

Honey-balsamic vinaigrette:

• While the beets are roasting, whisk together ingredients for dressing. Refrigerate until needed. (You can also put all the ingredients into a blender too.)

To assemble

In a bowl, combine sliced, cooled beets and red onion. Drizzle with 1/2 cup of the dressing and toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 15-20 minutes so the beets absorb some of the dressing and the onions soften up slightly.

Place greens on a platter.

Top with beet/onion combination, a little more of the vinaigrette, and then sprinkle candied pecans and goat cheese over the top.

Serve immediately. Enjoy!