Roasted beet salad with rucola

I say: "Eat more beets!"

Recipe adapted from Giada's Family Dinners
time: 55 min roasting beets + 10 min preparation

ingredients

• 8 medium size beets (little smaller than a tennis ball) peeled and cut in 6 wedges 
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) liquid honey
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 lb (125 g) rucola
• hand full of almonds, roasted and chopped
• hand full of dried cranberries or cherries
• 1/2 avocado or a whole one, diced
• hand full of Parmesan crumbs

instructions

1. Preheat oven to 200C/395F. Line a baking sheet with one piece of aluminum foil. 
2. In a medium bowl, mix vinegar with honey. Whisk in oil. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Dip beet pieces in the dressing and then transfer them onto the baking sheet. You'll need the unused dressing later. 
3. Place another piece of aluminum foil on top of beets and carefully seal the edges of both foils to close the beets in. Place the sheet in the hot oven for 30 minutes till beats are tender to the fork. 
4. Remove top foil and bake for another 25 minutes, stirring them occasionally. Remove caramelized beets from the oven and let them cool a bit. 
5. Place them on a platter. Arrange rucola, almonds and cranberries and drizzle with the dressing. Top it with Parmesan and avocado pieces.

notes

• beets never tasted better;
• long roasting and caramelizing brought the best in the roots; 
• if I dare to add, the process turned them into a delicacy;
• they are tender but firm, sweet but not quite; 
• the original recipe had walnuts and goat cheese...and fewer beets;
• I love salads with a good load of something more than just leaves; 
• we had it for lunch today, third time in the past two weeks.