Beets and I have never been on good terms. My mum used to boil them and sprinkle the slices with sugar for us when we were kids. I always found that it was too sweet and the texture was just too soft. I knew it was good for you, I loved the color but one bite into the soft mushy sweet overload was all I could handle.

That all changed this winter when I came across a recipe in the women’s weekly for roasted beets and feta salad.The idea of roasting and pairing sweet with salty intrigued me. I had to try it and I am glad I did “I will be sharing that recipe for that beet and feta salad soon”. The roasted beets were much firmer than their boiled counter parts and when paired with other ingredients the sweetness was balanced off nicely.

I started looking for more recipes to use roasted beets in, the results of the search were quite interesting. Sandwiches, salads and even cakes feature this deeply colored delight and now the one thing I never noticed when grocery shopping is on the list almost every time.

Today’s recipe was inspired by this salad I found on pinterest. It had roasted beets, check. Arugula which I love and always have on hand, check. Grapefruit, hmmm ,no one eats grapefruit around here but me so I decided to use blood oranges instead. I also replaced the grapefruit juice, maple syrup and cumin dressing with an orange vinaigrette and garnished it with pomegranate seeds.The result was a success in terms or looks, texture and flavor.

Layered salads are fun, versatile, elegant and really easy to make. I had a question from one of my readers on my facebook page “what can you use to replace the oranges, no other citrus fruit will work ,allergic”, I suggested feta cheese with a balsamic honey dressing because I have already tried the combo and it works brilliantly.Don’t have avocado,try cucumbers.Try different combinations and dressings,be adventurous. If you do give it a go and let me know how you like it.

Layered avocado beet and citrus salad

adapted from Authentic Suburban Gourmet

Makes one serving (Printable recipe here)

2  Beets, roasted, peeled and cubed

1 blood orange sectioned and cut into cubes

1 small avocados, cut in half, pit removed and cubed

1/2 cup arugula leaves

1 tablespoon pomegranate seeds

Dressing

1/2 cup fresh orange juice ( one to two oranges)

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp vinegar

 

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

 

1/2 tsp sugar

 

 1/8 tsp sea salt

 

1/2 teaspoon mustard

To make the dressing, add all ingredients into a small jar and shake well.

To prepare the beets, cut off the tops and bottoms and drizzle with olive oil .

Place on a cookie sheet and bake for about 45-60 minutes at 180 C  until fork tender.

Remove from the oven and let cool. Peel and cube.

To assemble,  Lay the Arugula leaves on the bottom of your plate.

Put a ring (7 cm) on top of the arugula leaves.

Layer with the beets then the avocado and finally the oranges.

Remove the ring and drizzle with the dressing.

Sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds