I am a fan of winter salads.  In January I usually feel the need to cut down on my expenses by packing lunch from home.  I also feel the need to eat less ridiculously meat filled meals after indulging myself over the holidays.  The result is that I have a lot of good recipes for winter salad.  This is one of them.

I roast my beets in a flavourful  mix of herbs, oils and other yummy stuff that is entirely dependent on what I have kicking around.  When deciding what to add to your beet roasting liquid, do not feel obligated to pair flavours that make geographical sense….these are fusion beets!  You can also just scrub your beets, wrap them individually in tin foil and roast them whole  until they are tender.  They turn out sweet and slip out of their skins without complaint.

WINTER SALAD WITH ROASTED BEETS

• A bunch of  beets, scrubbed, peeled (or not), and cut into eights (save the greens to cook for another meal)
• A generous splash of olive or sesame oil
• Salt or tamari to taste
• splashes of Mirin and/ or balsamic vinegar (optional)
• any or all of the following- rosemary, thyme, garlic
• Baby Spinach or Arugula
• Goat Cheese or smoked trout
• Pecans, Hazelnuts or Almonds
• fresh chives or mint (optional)
• hard-boiled egg sliced (optional)
• A salad dressing made from olive oil, maple syrup, balsamic or raspberry vinegar (fig balsamic is crazy good), salt and pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place your beets in a baking dish along with the oil, slat or tamari, vinegar or mirin (if you are using it) and aromatics.  Cover the dish with foil.  OR scrub your whole beets and wrap them in foil individually.
3. Bake your beets until they are tender.
4. Eat your beets hot, cold or room temperature on a bed of arugula or baby spinach, next to some goat cheese or smoked trout, sprinkled with pecans or hazelnuts, garnished with chives and or egg (if you like) and drizzled with the salad dressing.