Roasted Beets and goat cheese over fresh greens

For the Love of Red, White and Greens

I love love love beets. I love them roasted, pickled and my favorite over greens.  I change up this recipe adding what ever fruit I have in the house (blueberries, strawberries, pomegranate seeds etc). But my traditional salad is simply a bed of baby greens, clementine wedges, pepitas and chia seeds. I like to add chia seeds and pepitas to my salads as the are loaded with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. I highly recommend adding them to all your salads in moderation.
I generally roast up the beets the night before and keep them chilled in the fridge until ready to make the salad.  You can also make the dressing the night before and just keep chilled. Then shake up to recombine.

Roasted beet salad over baby greens

Beet Salad (serves 4)
1 bunch of fresh beets roasted per my roasted beet recipe
2 - 4 small clementines (or 2 oranges)
1 bag baby greens
2 - 4 oz goat cheese or crumbly feta or blue cheese
4 tsp chia seeds
4 tbs raw or roasted pepitas or toasted chopped nuts

Citrus Dressing
1 Lemon juiced and zested (~1/4 c juice)
1/4 small vidalia onion or 2 shallots finely minced
1/4 c good quality extra virgin olive oil (1 generally mix it up and use 1/2 EVOO and 1/2 other nut or seed oil that I have in the house ie walnut or almond oil)
1 orange juiced and zested (~1/4 c juice) - you can substitute 2 Tbs of flavored vinegar and 1 - 2 tsp honey but the OJ really makes the salad pop
2 Tbs Apple cider vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
1 Tbs dijon mustard
Live salt and pepper

Citrus Dressing

Instructions 
Roast the beats per my roasted beet recipe and set aside.
For the dressing - 
Zest the lemon and orange into a small bowl, then juice the lemon and orange and pour into bowl. Add the vinegar and whisk. Add the minced onion and dijon mustard and whisk. While whisking slowly add the oil to the bowl. The mustard will help bind the acid and oil so the dressing will be creamy vs a traditional vinaigrette that separates.  Once combined add salt and pepper to taste. Be generous with the salt.

To make the salad -
Place the greens in a large salad bowl and combine ~2 Tbs per serving of salad dressing. Don't over dress the greens as you want the salad to be light and not loaded down with dressing. A little will go a long way. Portion out the greens amongst 4 plates.
Peal the clementines and break up into sections cutting each section in half. Place on the greens.
Scoop ~ 1/4 - 1/2 c of beets on the dressed greens
Top with chia seeds and pepitas and dot each plate with ~ 1 oz of cheese and serve.

This dish is so clean and bright. It will delight your taste buds with the sweetness of the beets and clementines and the sour of the lemon and orange juice.

Enjoy your clean eats!!