Want to add flavour, colour and nutrition to your meal, then consider adding beets as a side dish or in a salad as a meal.

Beets come in a variety of colours.  My favorites are golden beets and Bulls blood beets.  I grow both in my garden, but you can find them in your local green grocer.  Golden beets have a subtle sweet taste and I find the Bulls Blood beets sweeter and more earthy.  The 2 together are a perfect combination.

Give this salad a try.

Ingredients

• 6medium/large beets, I used a combination of red and golden
• 2-3tbsp vegetable oil
• Generous sprinkle salt and pepper
• 3cups greens (mix baby spinach & arugula, lettuce)
• 1small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 3tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2tsp sea salt to taste
• 1/2tsp pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Wash the beets and place them into a Dutch oven (or other oven safe container with a lid, such as a ceramic or heat resistant glass cooking pot). Drizzle the beets with oil and
3. sprinkle them with salt and pepper and bake for 60-90 minutes, or until the beets are tender. Start testing for tenderness after 60 minutes by carefully piercing one or several of the beets with a sharp knife; the larger the beets, the longer they will take to fully cook.
4. Remove the cooked beets from the oven and let them cool in the pot, covered, until they are cool enough to handle, but don’t let them get too cold; warm beets are easier to peel.
5. Once the beets are cool enough to handle safely, simply rub them with your fingers to slip the skins off, preferably under running water; this will help prevent your fingers from turning all kinds of pink! Use a paring knife to get rid of any stubborn bits, as needed. Cut the peeled beets into bite size cubes and, preferably, let them cool completely.
6. Place the cubed beets in a large mixing bowl, along with the greens and sliced onion.
7. Make a vinaigrette by combining the last 6 ingredients. Wisk together in a small bowl until well combined and slightly emulsified. Pour over the salad and toss delicately.
8. Sprinkle chopped walnuts
9. Serve & enjoy