Golden Beet & Green Fig Salad

Simple and outrageously good. Golden beets slow roasted with rosemary, paired with fresh Adriatic figs, arugula, rosemary candied almonds, truffle goat cheese tossed in a lemon maple dijon vinaigrette. Want to LOVE beets? Golden beets are a little sweeter and less earthy than their sisters. I've added beets to a lot of people's rosters over the years cooking them like this. It's a simple, perfectly balanced salad for fig season. You really don't need to do much when you already have fabulous ingredients.

Serves 4-6 | Level: Beginner

---

---

Ingredients

Beet Salad

8 palm sized golden beets (more or less depending on size)

2-4 sprigs of rosemary

12-16 green figs (some varieties of figs are green, I don't mean unripe ones!)

Arugula

1/2 cup rosemary candied almonds or toasted pumpkin seeds (see NOTE)

4 oz chunk of truffle goat cheese (or plain)

Drizzle of olive oil

Lemon Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

1 clove of garlic

2 teaspoons course salt

black pepper (to taste)

1.5 teaspoons whole grain dijon mustard

1.5 teaspoons pure maple syrup

Olive oil (about the same amount as the lemon rendered)

1 lemon, juiced

Method

For the magical beets, Preheat oven to 350F. Wash the beets, cut off their greens and the long tail. dry completely, then place them on a sheet of parchment long enough to wrap up all the beets in. Drizzle the beets on olive oil, and place the sprigs of rosemary around them before wrapping them in the parchment so they can steam in there. Put on a baking sheet and bake for about 60minutes, check on them after 45 minutes with a fork or a skewer just to see if it easily pierces them, if it does they are done. If it doesn't, check on them again in 10minutes. Let cool on the counter inside the parchment. You can either put them in the fridge, or if you're in a hurry, go ahead and peel them. The skin should slide right off when you simply rub it with your thumb. I like them to be chilled when I plate them, but room temp is okay just ensure they are not warm.

I like to make my salad dressings in a mortar and pestle, I find that they emulsify perfectly and the flavors combine very well. So in a mortar and pestle, add the salt and garlic then smash it into a paste. You can do this without a mortar and pestle by scraping the blade of your knife over chopped garlic sprinkled with the salt on a cutting board. Add the black pepper and mustard and maple syrup, and smash to combine before adding the lemon juice and olive oil. Mix until combined. Test for salt and pepper by dipping a piece of arugula into it and give it a taste.

To assemble, add a handful of arugula to each plate and toss it in some vinaigrette. Slice the beets and figs into wedges and arrange them evenly on the plates. Roughly chop the almonds or leave pumpkin seeds whole and sprinkle them over the top, followed by a crumbling of goat cheese. Finish by drizzling another spoonful of vinaigrette over the top and eat immediately!

NOTE: These are incredibly specific and you can sub them easily. I bought the rosemary candied almonds from Whole Foods, the brand is "nuts on the run" they are an absolute favorite of mine. When I don't have them, I sub for another candied nut or just plain toasted pumpkin seeds, pecans, or almonds. Choose whatever is easiest for you, it does change things a little bit but every combo I've tried is incredibly delicious, and I've made this with a lot of different nuts.

https://youtube.com/shorts/b8t1Vv2IUpo?si=gOwXRQWYiE_P6uQY

Happy Eating! Did you make this? Tell me how it went below!

xoxo Slone's Kitchen