An explosion in natural color, this food is almost too pretty to eat! Packed with vitamins and antioxidants, and brimming with flavor is my Citrus, Beet & Fennel Salad.
Adapted from Bon Appetit, it is a salad to delight your senses. Simple to prepare, and can be done in stages. I roasted the beets a day ahead; cooled, peeled and sliced them to store in the refrigerator overnight. (separately to keep the colors from running) I segmented the blood oranges and sliced the navel oranges also storing them in individual containers. The salad is easy to assemble at the last minute and exquisite served on a large flat platter to show off all of its natural beauty.
Ingredients
- 2 medium red beets, tops trimmed
- 2 medium golden beets, tops trimmed
- 3 blood oranges
- 1 medium navel orange
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1/2 small fennel bulb, very thinly sliced crosswise on a mandoline
- 1/8 red onion, very thinly sliced on a mandoline
- 1 cup arugula
- Good-quality extra-virgin olive, or any nut oil such as hazelnut, pumpkin seed, or walnut (for drizzling)
- Coarse sea salt, such as fleur de sel or Maldon sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro
Directions
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Preheat oven to 400°. Wash beets, leaving some water on skins. Wrap individually in foil; place on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until beets are tender when pierced with a knife, about 1 hour. Let cool.
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Meanwhile, using a sharp knife, cut all peel and white pith from all oranges; discard. Working over a medium bowl, cut between membranes of the blood oranges to release segments into bowl; squeeze juice from membranes into bowl and discard membranes. Slice navel orange crosswise into thin rounds. Place sliced oranges in a separate bowl. Add some of lemon juice and lime juice to each bowl.
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Peel cooled beets. Slice the beets crosswise into thin rounds. Strain citrus juices; reserve. Layer arugula on a platter or individual plates and top with some of the fennel, beets and oranges, dividing evenly if using separate plates. Arrange the rest of the fennel and onion over beets. Spoon reserved citrus juices over, then drizzle salad generously with oil. Season to taste with coarse sea salt and pepper. Let salad stand for 5 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Garnish salad with cilantro leaves.
Note
- Beets and citrus can be prepared a day ahead and stored in 4 separate containers with like type and color.
- Assemble salad only 5 minutes before serving to ensure that the colors do not run.
(Printable recipe can be found in my recipe index under Salads)