Roasted Beet, Orange, and Goat Cheese Salad

As lame as it may sound, Roasted Beet and Potato Borscht got me really excited about beets. Thus armed with a new-found love for the roasted variety, I turned to one of my favorite canvases for recipe creation - salad. I eat salad for lunch at least four times a week, so I have plenty of opportunity for experimentation and get geekily excited when I come up with something new. Since I'm married to someone who would prefer to subsist on meat and potatoes, I bring this recipe to you. Many of the salads I create are wonderful in any season, but roasted beets give this one the very essence of winter. Though I was never one to order or make anything with beets in the past, I knew that beet and orange was a tried-and-true combination and used it as a place to begin crafting my recipe. From there, the rest was a snap - add some red onion to cut through the sweetness of the beets and orange, and nuts and cheese for richness and saltiness and to make it filling enough for a main course. If a winter diet of too many root vegetables is weighing you down, use this recipe to lighten up a bit without losing the best flavor the season has to offer.

Roasted Beet, Orange, and Goat Cheese Salad
serves 1 (as a main dish)

2 ounces lettuce, mixed greens, or spinach (about 2 cups)
4 ounces beets, peeled and cut into small dice (a few small beets or 1/2 medium to large beet)
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced (about 0.5 ounce)
Clementine, satsuma, or half of a small regular or blood orange, cut into bite-size pieces (about 2 ounces)
1/4 cup/1 ounce crumbled goat or feta cheese
2 tablespoons/0.5 ounce toasted chopped walnuts or pistachios

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Toss beets with olive oil, salt, and pepper and arrange in an even layer on a baking sheet. Roast until beets are tender and caramelized, about 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces.

2. Arrange greens on a large plate, and top with onion, beets, oranges, cheese, and nuts. Drizzle with dressing of choice and enjoy!