Roasted Beet Salad

Roasted Beet Salad

Happy New Year! It's been almost two months since my last post, for which I apologize.  The holidays were very busy, and while I was consistently cooking, I never got around to sharing many recipes. But I have a lot saved up so I promise to keep them coming, starting with the healthiest ones first, since I am sure many of you have committed yourself to a more healthful lifestyle as of a week ago.  So while that resolution still holds, I hope you enjoy my recipes.

I made this salad back in the fall when the weather was starting to turn cooler.  Although my favorite go to meal in the winter is soup, sometimes having something fresh still hits the spot.  This roasted beet salad satisfies your craving for a crunchy salad as well as a warm, hunger squelching entree. I had honestly never roasted beets before, so this was a new experience and I was pleasantly surprised. Beets are literally one of the most nutritious foods on the planet,* full of vitamin C, fiber, potassium, manganese, and vitamin B folate. You would be hard pressed to find a food with more health benefits for every aspect of your body, from your muscles, to your liver, and brain function.  And although I know the flavor of beets can be a hard sell for some people, roasting them like I did for this recipe brings out the natural sugars, and both of my kids, even my super picky daughter, loved them.  I rounded out the salad with spicy arugula (a mix of kale and radicchio would be great too), chopped red bell peppers, walnuts, dried cherries, and goat cheese. Of course you can add whatever you like to the salad, but keep the dressing light, like the citrus vinaigrette recipe below. I did serve some pesto encrusted salmon on the side with this salad, but it could easily stand alone as a meal by itself.

* http://www.health.com/nutrition/beets-health-benefits

Arugula and Walnut Pesto

Arugula and Walnut Pesto
(with gnocchi)

Traditionally pesto is made with fresh basil, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic and Parmesan cheese, but to me, that is only a template.  Basically the first two ingredients can be changed around in numerous ways to alter the flavor, or use up what you have on hand, depending on what type of greens and nuts (or seeds) you prefer.  I have tried many different varieties in the past but tonight I had some arugula that had to get used up and instead of just tossing it with some pasta like I frequently do, I thought I would use it to make a sauce for some delicious whole wheat gnocchi that I had picked up at the store a few days ago.  I always have walnuts on hand since they are my favorite (and in my opinion, the most versatile) nut so I figured why not try an arugula and walnut pesto?  I wanted to add some protein to the dish as well and love adding canned tuna to pasta (fell in love with that during a summer spent in Italy when I was 20), so I also added in some lemon to the pesto recipe to compliment the fish.  The result?  A healthy and delicious gourmet meal that I was able to whip together in about half an hour.