Recipe Title Alternatives: Baby Beet Salad, Fresh Beet Salad, Feta and Beet Salad with Shallot and Orange Vinaigrette, Feta and Beet Salad…

I think you get the point.  “Beet Salad” just kinda sums it up.

For four weeks straight, our CSA included a (deceptively) small brown bag full of baby beets.  Did I mention this was for four weeks straight?

Now, ordinarily, I would be excited at the opportunity to eat beets to my heart’s content.  But, this was a lot of beets.

Jordan and I can only eat so many.  Trust me, we’ve tried.

This leads me to my dilemma: Dustin and my mother-in-law, AKA “The Beet Haters.”

Not sure why exactly, but they both extremely dislike beets.  But, after the fourth bag of baby beets, they both agreed they would entertain the idea of eating some of the beets.  If I made them into something tasty.   No pressure, or anything.  Ugh.

So, I figured I’d balance out the sweetness of the beets with some tangy, creamy feta cheese and a savory vinaigrette.

The result?  Well, they didn’t hate it.  In fact, they ate it without gagging, spitting, complaining or even grimacing.  Dustin even said, “I could see how someone who likes beets would really like this salad.”

Eh — I’ll take it!  I call that progress, my friends.

I, personally, really enjoyed the salad.  But alas, there was still too much for just me to finish.  Woe is the life of the beet lover in the Baier household.

Beet Salad

15 small (baby) beets
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. shallots, minced
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. parsley, minced
1 tsp. fresh orange juice
kosher salt, to taste
ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup crumbled feta

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Lay the baby beets, skin on, down on the baking sheet, with space surrounding each, if possible. Cover baking sheet with another sheet of aluminum foil. (You can bypass this step if you wish to individually wrap each beet, but this is kinda like wrapping them all together at once.  Much easier.)

Bake beets in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until tender when poked with a fork.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together all other ingredients (for the vinaigrette).  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Once beets are tender, remove from oven and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, gently peel off beet skin using a sharp paring knife.  Discard peel.

Slice each beet in about 1/4-inch slices. Arrange sliced beets on a plate. Drizzle desired amount of vinaigrette over the beets (you may not need to use it all). Sprinkle crumble feta over the plate.

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