Green Apple and Beet Salad

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 1 hr

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins

A bright and crunchy green apple and beet salad recipe featuring sliced green apples, marinated beets tossed with red wine vinegar and shallot, beet greens, spinach, herbed goat cheese crumbles, and a simple vinaigrette.

Recipe Type: Salad

Keyword: beet salad

Makes: 4 servings

Author: Elizabeth Stark

Ingredients

• 1 bunch beets + greens, scrubbed
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground white or black pepper
• 1 medium shallot, divided
• 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar, divided
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup crumbled chèvre
• 1/4 cup minced parsley
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 2 large green apples, cored and sliced 1/8-inch thick
• 2 Satsuma mandarins, peels sliced off and sliced into rounds (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Trim greens from beets and set aside.
3. Set scrubbed beets in a baking dish, fill with water to a 1/2-inch depth, cover tightly with foil, and bake for one hour, or until beets are very easily pierced with a fork.
4. Carefully remove foil (steam plume will be very hot), and set aside to cool.
5. While beets cook, slice shallot in half. Cut one of the halves into paper thin slices; mince the other half. Reserve sliced shallot for beets.
6. To make vinaigrette, toss minced shallot with 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, Dijon, and a pinch of sea salt. Whisk in honey and 6 Tbsp olive oil. Set aside.
7. In a small bowl, toss chèvre crumbles with 2 tablespoons minced parsley.
8. When beets are cool enough to handle, slice tops off and use fingertips to remove peel under cold running water. Slice beets into 3/4-inch thick wedges. In a small mixing bowl, toss warm beets with 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, sliced shallot, a generous pinch sea salt, and several twists of fresh ground pepper. Set in fridge 20 minutes.
9. Tear reserved beet greens into bite-sized pieces. If stems are too fibrous, discard. Toss beet greens with spinach in a big salad bowl. Drizzle with prepared vinaigrette and add sea salt to taste. Layer in apples and goat cheese. Just before serving, drain marinating liquid from beets. Layer beets on top of the salad, drizzle with a bit more vinaigrette, add a few twists of pepper, and garnish with orange slices and remaining two tablespoons parsley. Serve right away.