I eat my veggies. My crisper drawer never runs out of them. Usually steamed or baked in the oven with garlic, salt, pepper, and a drizzle of walnut oil, they are never forgotten. When the hunger pangs hit, a hodgepodge of the usual participants are thrown into a bowl and clumsily tossed together with the all-too-familiar dressings. Sure it tastes good or else I wouldn’t be eating it, but I never put any thought or time into this quick-fix meal. From perusing through a multitude of food magazines, websites, blogs, etc, I am noticing the common theme of “less is more” when it comes to salads. It’s not about how many different vegetables I can add in, rather how well just a few can mesh together.
Having been born and raised in Korea and growing up in the States under my father, who complained of indigestion if he didn’t have his rice and soup, and my mother, who only knew how to cook Korean, salads didn’t have a chance at our table. So although having salad as a meal was unheard of before, I want it to be frequently at the center of the table in my house.
Naturally, I find myself setting a goal, which is to try a new salad each week, using fresh, in-season ingredients. To start, I’m arming myself with recipes collected from various sources to guide me along. Over time, I hope to be able to look at certain produce and create something magical off the top of my head.
For this week, I knew I wanted to use beets as I saw them in abundance at the Farmers Market that we go to every Saturday morning. I scoured each and every stand for the freshest looking produce. Hungryman stood at a distance hoping I’d let him get his tacos. Kona sniffed…humans and dogs alike.
So about beets… I adore them even though they stain my fingers. I like to roast them in walnut oil and keep them on hand for easy snacking. As for the beet greens, I’ve never really messed with them. The inspiration for today’s salad is from this recipe by Epicurious. Instead of baby lettuce, I used beet greens. I also added farro (completely unplanned) at the very end when I saw how much the beet greens had cooked down. It was def not going to cut it as a main dish without the addition of some whole grains.
Here’s what I did…
Step 1) Beets were roasted following these steps. It took about an hour for the beets to be done.
Step 2) While they cooled, I washed and cooked the beet greens. I wanted the least amount of nutrients to leach out into the water, so instead of boiling them like the recipe instructs, I cooked them in the pan for about 5 minutes with some olive oil.
Step 3) As I had mentioned, the addition of farro was so spur of the moment that I had to cook it after all the ingredients were ready to go. Next time I will be sure to cook it while the beets are roasting to save time or add in some spinach or kale to “bulk up” the salad.
Step 4) Throw all the ingredients, except for walnuts and goat cheese, into a large bowl. Whisk together the dressing, pour in, and gently toss everything to coat. Be aware that the beets will turn the salad pink. I thought it looked gorgeous, but if you are disturbed by it, add the beets on top at the very end.
I’m working on mastering my mise en place. Can you tell? 😉
To be quite honest, after tasting the cooked beet greens alone, I thought this salad was going to be a bust as they were quite bitter. So you can imagine my surprise when I took that first bite of the finished salad. It was fabulous! The key ingredient was the orange. The bright, citrus flavor really counterbalanced the bitterness of the beet greens and complemented the tanginess and saltiness of the goat cheese as well as the nuttiness of the walnuts. This orange, farro & beet salad was pretty simple to prepare, and I was throughly entertained throughout the whole process. It didn’t hurt that a Korean drama was playing in the background ;).
Ingredients
Dressing
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
Salad
- 6 medium beets with stems and beet greens attached
- 1 cup farro, uncooked
- 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
- 4 ounces chilled soft goat cheese, crumbled
- thin strips of orange peel t
- 2 navel oranges, peeled and segmented
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roast beets until tender, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool beets; peel and cut into ½ in. wedges.
- In the meanwhile, bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan over med-high heat. Add farro and stir. Turn the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 25-30 min. until chewy and tender. Drain excess liquid.
- Wash beet greens. Add to a skillet or frying pan (no need to add water). Add a dash of olive oil. Cover lid and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. When cool, squeeze greens to remove excess moisture. Roughly chop
- .Transfer all ingredients, except cheese and walnuts, to a large mixing bowl. Whisk together the dressing; add to beet mixture and toss to coat. Add in walnuts, goat cheese, and orange peel. Best served cold.
Notes
I love the combo of beets and goat cheese, so I need to try this out!!
This was actually my first time trying the two together. A perfect combination!
Beautiful salad! I’ve never cooked with farro before, but I do make salads with beets and oranges a lot in the winter.
Oh, you should def give farro a try! It’s chewy, hearty…delicious!
love your mise en place. I hope to get that organized someday. I use beets every now and then and always feel bad throwing the greens. I will have to try it cooked as you suggested next time.
Beet greens are so nutritious! Def give it a try 😉
Your mise en place es beautiful as it is! Love those transparent glass bowls – they look so professional like those in cooking shows! I made a beetroot risotto once and the beets stained all the rice the exact shade of pink that this salad has! Haha, and I think I was the only one who thought the color was cool. Juan was slightly turned off but who cares!! 🙂 Big hug!!
Yum! beetroot risotto! That sounds divine. I like the color too..so pretty
That is a beautiful and vibrant plate of food! Love farro; you don’t see too many recipes that call for it, though! I followed you here from the Marvelous Mondays link party, by the way! Also, I’d like to invite you to come link up with me at my link party! I’d love it if you could stop by & link up some of your recipes! Here’s the link: https://anyonitanibbles.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/tasty-tuesdays-14-plus-16-dad-approved-fathers-day-recipes.html
Hi, Anyonita! Thank you so much for stopping by and letting you know about the party! I’ll def check it out!
Not a big fan of the beet greens, but I have only ever scrubbed and used, never cooked them in any way. Usually just end up throwing the greens out in the garbage. Will have to give your salad a try next time I grab beets.
Thanks for sharing, nice pics.
I used to always throw away the greens as well. Now I find myself searching for ways to use it. I hope you give this recipe a try! You won’t be disappointed ;). Thank you for stopping by!
YUM! This looks fantastic – so bright and colourful and fresh. Delicious 🙂
I love farmers markets. Ready to eat stuff is part of the fun. Though I often buy too much ingredients because I can’t decide which to get. I guess that isn’t a bad problem to have.
I like the sound of orange and beets. I’m going to try roast chicken with orange and roast beetroot tonight.
Super healthy recipe… I only cooked with farro once. I need to make it again. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us on foodie friday.
Such a pretty and healthy salad! Thanks so much for sharing at All my Bloggy Friends – I can’t wait to see what you share this week!
Your recipe is being featured on foodie friday today. Stop by and get your featured button. I will be pinning and tweeting it this week too.
I was looking for a recipe that used beets and farro and stumbled upon your recipe. Made it for my book club this past week and it was delicious. Thank you it was an inspired combination, especially love the addition of the oranges. I included a link to your blog and recipe on my blog. If you want to see the rest of menu stop by my blog, https://cooksbybooks.com/book-clubs-thanksgiving-dinner/#more-746
Thank you so much Peggy! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. It’s def one of my favorites ;). I’m heading over right now.