Creamy, sweet, earthy…and beautiful! It’s the perfect side for a cozy meal! Inspired by a recipe I read online (hehe), I switched up some of the toppings and the dressing to make it more accessible by using ingredients you can find in any grocery store. I used Greek yogurt as a base since it’s reasonably priced and tangy, but ricotta or my favourite thing of all time…burrata….would be an amazing base for a special occasion!

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (get full fat, make it enjoyable)
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 red beets
4 blood oranges (3 for eating, 1 for juicing!)
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted
Small handful fresh mint, torn or chiffonade
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Wrap the beets (unpeeled) in tin foil and place in the oven for 45 to 1 hour, depending on how big your beets are. If you can easily pierce them with a knife or fork, they’re done. Let them cool and then peel them using a peeler or rubbing them with foil or paper towel. Slice the beets into wedges. Be prepared to get messy (I use parchment paper on my cutting board so I don’t stain my board)!

While the beets are roasting (you have the oven on anyways!), toast the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet for around 5 minutes until fragrant and toasty brown. Keep an eye on them, they burn easy.

To make the dressing, combine the juice of one blood orange, olive oil, shallot, salt & pepper to taste, and red wine vinegar in a jar and shake to emulsify. Put aside.

Carefully use a sharp knife to remove the peel and pith from the remaining 3 blood oranges. Slice them into 1/4 slices crosswise

In a small bowl combine the Greek yogurt, salt & pepper to taste, and minced/grated clove of garlic.

To assemble the salad:

On a serving platter spread the Greek yogurt mixture to create a base for the rest of the salad. You can put this in the fridge and wait until right before serving to finish assembling if you like.

Right before serving arrange the beet wedges and blood orange slices on the yogurt.

Drizzle with dressing (you may not need to use all the dressing – up to you!).

Sprinkle the toasted walnuts on top and garnish with torn or chopped mint.

Swoon over it’s beauty for a few minutes…and then enjoy!

*This salad cannot be put together ahead of time as the beets will bleed too much into the yogurt. To make ahead, prepare the dressing, yogurt and toppings ahead of time and store separately. Assemble just before serving. *