Organic Garden Beet Salad with Caramelized Yogurt

This salad is perfect for summer. Make ahead of time and keep in a glass storage container with a tight-fitting lid.

Course Salad

Cuisine French

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 4 40

Total Time 5

Servings servings

Author David of Sunset & Sewanee

32 beets, organic small 16 red 16 yellow peeled and trimmed (Larger beets can be substituted if baby beets are not available)
2 tbsp oil, canola, or any neutral tasting salad oil
2 tbsp vinegar, white
¼ tsp salt, kosher
¼ tsp pepper, black, fresh
2 cups yogurt, organic drained 12 hours in the fridge in a coffee filter (If you are using Greek-style yogurt, you can skip this step, it has already been drained.)
½ cup pistachios, shelled roasted, chopped roasted, chopped
2 whole orange peeled, seeded, and segmented
¼ cup vinegar white balsamic vinegar
½ cup olive oil, extra virgin Good quality
6 oz blue cheese Good quality
1 cup arugula, baby

Peel the beets. (If you are using more than one color of beets keep them separate until ready to plate.)
In a medium mixing bowl, toss the beets with avocado (or canola) oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper.
Place the tossed beets in a shallow dish and cover with foil. Bake at (350°F or 175°C) for 35-40 minutes or until they are tender when poked with a knife tip. *The bigger the beet size, the longer this will take.
Let cool, then peel the beets and cut them into uniformed bite-sized pieces. (If you are using red and gold beets, put them into separate bowls to keep the colors from bleeding.)
Cover and refrigerate until ready for use.

Place the plain yogurt in a paper coffee filter and drain for 12 hours or overnight.
(If you are going with Greek-style yogurt, skip the draining and proceed to the next step.)
Preheat oven at (250°F or 121°C)
Pour the yogurt into an oven-safe pan and cover with foil. Place this pan into a larger pan filled with enough water to come up the sides of the first pan halfway. (Glass casserole dishes work best.)
Bake at (250°F or 121°C) for 4 hours or until caramelized. Remove from heat and let the yogurt cool completely.
In a blender or food processor, mix the yogurt to blend the caramelization. Reserve

On a dry but chilled salad dish spread out a tablespoon of the caramelized yogurt.
Add the prepared beets, orange segments, baby arugula, bleu cheese, and chopped pistachios in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Gently toss the mixture with a pair of tongs or your own hands with clean kitchen gloves.
Neatly place the beet mixture on top of the yogurt on the salad plate and serve.