Roasted Beet Salad with Goldenberry Vinaigrette

Greens are so vital to a healthy diet; Raw foodists might eat two salads a day to make sure that they get enough protein and mineral-rich leafy greens, which could become tedious if you don’t find ways to perk them up.  What I love about “raw fusion” is how by combining tantalizing textures and temperatures, I never find this lifestyle boring.

Yesterday I decided to roast some beets.  Roasted vegetables are great raw fusion additions to salads.  Sometimes when I go out to restaurants and they have roasted veggies on the menu, I’ll get a side order to add to my greens.  Beets are natural blood-builders,  low in fat, high in folic acid, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, niacin and Vitamins A & C.

Just wash the skins well, but no need to peel as they will rub off easily after roasting.  Cut the beets into manageable chunks, place in a roasting pan or clay pot (I got mine as a wedding gift from Williams Sonoma) with some garlic cloves.  I didn’t even peel the cloves as once roasted you can easily squeeze out the soft and fragrant garlic.  Drizzle on the oil of your choice – I am starting to use less olive oil in cooking because it degrades at high temperatures, but still love it in salad dressings.  For these beets I used a combination of heart-healthy grapeseed oil and nutty macadamia oil.  Finally I added some sprigs of rosemary and placed the covered casserole in a 425 degree heated oven.  Cooking times vary but allow about 2 hours and check to see if the beets are tender, so that the peels come off easily.

You can place some warm beets over a bowl of your favorite greens – the warmth and moisure will wilt the top layer of greens in a very appealing way.  I always save the vermillion-colored oil to use in salad dressings – you can imagine how wonderful that oil is, fully infused with garlic, beet juice and rosemary!  Another use for the oil is to drizzle over cooked grains, like quinoa.

Today I made a Goldenberry Vinaigrette to serve over the cold roasted beet slices.  Back in March I was on a book tour and saw this on a menu.  I didn’t try it there but the concept intrigued me as I adore goldenberries.  These sweet and tart little nuggets come from Peru – they are also called Incaberries and goosberries and they are loaded with protein (16%!) Vitamins A and K.  They are considered a superfood as they carry an extremely high nutrient panel.

This is my second time making this dressing.  Here are the ingredients:

• 1/4 cup goldenberries, soaked in 1/2 cup of water for one hour
• 2 TB. olive oil
• 1-2 TB. apple cider vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 dates for sweetening
• Celtic sea salt (to taste)

Blend all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor, adding the soak water from the goldenberries.  Add salt to taste.

Great also as a dip for crudites.  Can be refrigerated up to 4 days.

Note:  This time I used the roasted garlic from my beets. It was tasty, but I actually preferred this dressing with the fresh garlic.

Enjoy!

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