Roasted Beet & Orange Salad with Feta

I really love having citrus trees in my yard, especially since the grapefruits and oranges they produce are ridiculously delicious. The other day, I was thinking about the beets that I needed to use, but had no ideas on how I wanted to prepare them. As I'm brainstorming, I glance out the window and look right at the orange tree- loaded down with more oranges than we could ever posssibly manage to eat- and I had a lighbulb moment. A salad of earthy roasted beets and juicy, sweet orange slices sounded perfect!

As my beets were roasting, I recalled a pretty way I'd seen orange slices cut a while back. I probably should've read how to do it first. I figured it would be quite easy to figure out, but it took me a bit to get the hang of it. Luckily, when I messed up the first couple ones, I was able to walk in my backyard and pick a few more. If you don't have a tree of your own, you might want to grab an extra orange or two, just in case. (I've also tried to give a fairly detailed explanation, so hopefully it will be easier than my trying to wing it.) I found smaller oranges were easier to work with, and using a large serated knife was important.

The nice thing though, is even if your orange slices aren't perfect or your beets aren't consistant in shape, you can hide this when you layer your salad. And once you top your salad with feta, imperfections are disguised even more. (Speaking of the feta, I used fat free as I most often always do, but I think full fat would really really be better or goat cheese.) When it came to the dressing, I couldn't decide if I wanted to use red wine vinegar or basalmic, and the red wine won just because it was closest when I opened the cabinet. I kept the dressing intentionally simple, so that the flavors of the beets and oranges wouldn't be overwelmed.

This was delightful. I may, or may not have, eaten nearly all of it it myself in a span of 24 hours. If making for guests, assemble just prior to serving since it the beets will bleed and you'll have magenta colored feta. I waited probably 15-20 minutes after making this to take the picture (as Mom duties come first) and you can see it the feta was already becoming a little stained. (But if you're just going to eat it all yourself, like I *might* have, then it doesn't really matter.) Bring any leftovers to room temperature before eating.

Roasted Beet and Orange Salad with Feta

3 medium to large beets

1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

3 small oranges

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

1 oz. crumbled feta, plus extra for serving, if desired

chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 375. Peel beets with a vegetable peeler. (You could also peel after roasting- I find it so much less messy to do before.) Trim root and stem ends, and cut in half. Lay flat side down on a shallow baking dish (I like to use a glass pie pan.) Drizzle with a little of the oil to coat. Cover dish with tightly with foil. Roast for an 1-1 1/2 hours until beets are tender, and can be pierced easily with a knife. Uncover and let cool.

While beets are cooling, prepare oranges. Using a large serated knife, slice top off at stem end and repeat on bottom. Rest orange on cutting board, cut side down. Now following the curve of the orange, slice through the peel and pith. You want to end up with a hexagon, heptagon or octagon shape, that is free of white. (It doesn't matter if all 3 oranges don't have the same amount of sides.) Turn the orange on its side and carefully cut into thin slices. Remove seeds and stem area from the middle. Repeat with the other 2 oranges. Transfer slices to a plate, reserving juice, and set aside until ready to assemble.

Collect 2 tbsps of juice from cutting board and transfer to a small bowl. Add vinegar, a pinch of salt and a grind or two of pepper. Wisk in 1 tbsp of oil. Set aside.

Once beets are cool, cut into 1/4 inch slices.

To assemble salad: On a platter, alternate beet and orange slices until all slices have been used. Drizzle with half of dressing, top with 1 oz. crubled feta and sprinkle with parsley. Serve at room temperature, with remaining dressing and extra feta if desired.