Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad Recipe

Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad

8 servings

You can do all the preparation up to 2 days before serving and refrigerate the various salad components separately. Store and transport the marinated beets in a plastic food storage container, the arugula in several large plastic food storage bags lined with paper towels or in a salad bowl, the nuts in a small plastic food storage bag and the extra dressing in a jar with a tight-fitting lid.

6 medium beets (3 lbs.), scrubbed
¾ cup shelled or chopped walnuts or pecans (scant 4 oz.)
4 bunches fresh arugula
Dressing
¼ cup cider vinegar
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1 Tbs. thawed frozen apple juice concentrate
⅓ cup finely chopped shallots (2 medium)
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper
⅓ cup olive or vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheet with parchment or foil. Pierce beets with a skewer or fork. Place on prepared baking sheet and roast until tender when pierced with tip of sharp knife, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Set aside to cool slightly. Keep oven on.
Spread nuts in small baking pan and bake until fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes. Let cool; chop coarsely if necessary. Trim, rinse and dry arugula, then tear into bite-size pieces.
Make dressing: In medium bowl, whisk together vinegar, mustard, juice concentrate, shallots, salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in oil. Spoon half of dressing (about 1/3 cup) into small jar or bowl and set aside.
When beets are cool enough to handle, peel and cut each one into 8 or 12 wedges. Add to dressing in bowl and toss well to coat. (If desired, marinate beets, covered, in the refrigerator up to 2 days.)
To serve, in large salad bowl, toss arugula, marinated beets and reserved dressing. Sprinkle with toasted nuts and serve.