Roasted Beet Salad

Ingredients

* See note

1 bunch of beets, trimmed and scrubbed

1 Tbsp olive oil (2 Tbsp more later for dressing)

½ tsp each salt and pepper

1 package of pre-washed spinach

2 oranges (Navel are seedless and easier to use)

¼ cup toasted almonds, chopped

2 Tbsp olive oil

Pecorino Roman, grated or sliced with a vegetable peeler in thin strips

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put beets on a large sheet of aluminum foil, coat with 1 Tbsp of olive oil and the salt and pepper. Seal foil tightly making a packet and roast for about an hour and a half.

Cool beets until you can handle them and rub off the skins. You can use a paper towel to keep fingers a little cleaner.

Slice beets.

Cut peel away from oranges holding them over a bowl to catch any juice.

Holding peeled orange carefully slice into segments and drop in the bowl.

Put spinach on a serving platter or in a salad bowl.

Top with beets and orange segments.

Mix 2 Tbsp of olive oil in the bowl with orange juice left from slicing oranges.

Pour over salad. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Sprinkle with almonds and top with cheese.

Voila! Your salad is all dressed up and ready for dinner!

* So easy to make substitutions

You can use candy cane beets (red and white stripped) if you can find them.

Arugula is just as yummy as spinach.

Actually any toasted nut is fine.

Adding onion, especially red is also pretty

Goat cheese or Feta would be good cheese choices

Here’s the funny one and it messes up the Christmas theme, my husband asked for avocado on his instead of beets – go figure!