Roasted Beet, Orange & Avocado Salad -
Tossed with kale and shredded cabbage, there is so much wonderful flavor and color with roasted beets, oranges and avocados. While the beets roast, I prep the citrus and the rest of the ingredients. I like to use a few different types of oranges: naval, cara cara & blood oranges. Then I combine them with red onions and almonds. I toss the salad in a zesty vinaigrette made with some of the juice from the oranges.
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
1. Put each individual beet on a small piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle the beets with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Loosely wrap the beets in foil packets. I like to do this right on the baking sheet, so then they can go straight into the oven.
2. Roast the beets for 45-50 minutes. Carefully open the packets. You know the beets are ready when they are fork-tender. You should be able to pierce them with a paring knife. Give the beets a little time to cool off. Peel beets by rubbing off their skins with a towel. Then dice them.
3. Slice the oranges. Trim off the top and bottom. Place a flat side on the cutting board and slice off the peel and white pit following the curve in the fruit. Hold the orange over a bowl and slice out the segments catching the juice. Then dice the oranges.
4. Assemble the salad ingredients. Combine the roasted beets, oranges, kale, coleslaw mix, avocados, red onions and almonds in a large bowl.
5. Make the vinaigrette. Whisk the minced garlic, mustard, salt, black pepper, vinegar, olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the reserved fresh orange juice.
6. Drizzle the vinaigrette into the salad, tossing to combine. Be gentle when you toss the salad. The color from the beets will stain the other ingredients.
