I love beets, especially when the tiny rainbow-colored variety is in season as they’re so pretty and they make a wonderful summer, fall or winter salad.

When roasted in the oven, their earthy sweet flavor is intensified and the skins just slide right off. They’re wonderful combined with goat cheese, blue cheese, feta; toasted walnuts, hazelnuts or pecans; pumpkin seeds, arugula, mache; the list goes on. I just happened to have some fresh fava (broad) beans so I threw those in as well.

Create your own favorite beet salad – the only essential ingredients are the roasted beets and some good quality balsamic vinegar, preferably 15 yrs old or older.

Roasted Beet, Fava Bean & Goat Cheese Salad

ROASTED BABY RAINBOW BEET SALAD WITH GOAT CHEESE

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 x 50g packet of mache or arugula (lamb’s lettuce or rocket)

1 bunch of baby rainbow beets (or baby red beetroots if the pink and yellow varieties aren’t available)

Optional – ½ cup of broad/fava beans. Steamed for 4-5 mins, skins slipped off

¼ cup of toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

4 oz (115g) soft goat cheese, crumbled (or feta, blue cheese)

3 tablespoons of toasted hazelnut oil or extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar; preferably aged

Black pepper

Action:

Heat the oven to 350F (180C). Wash and trim the beets but don’t peel them.

Place them on a good sized piece of heavy duty (or double layer of regular) foil on a shallow roasting tray and bring up the foil edges to create a sealed parcel.

Bake them for 35-40 mins, then allow them to cool in the foil parcel. Slip off the skins and quarter the larger beets.

Whisk together the hazelnut oil, balsamic vinegar and a grind of black pepper.

Toss everything together, except for the goat cheese.

Arrange on 4 plates, top each with the crumbled cheese.