GOODNESS
Beets: These fat purple (and many other hued) roots are delicious and extremely good for you. They have a combination of chemicals that work to stimulate the blood vessels, helping your heart and brain to stay in top form. Beets can turn your urine surprisingly red, but that's completely normal, even if disconcerting.
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Recipe

Baby Greens with Roasted Beets and Potatoes

serves
prep time: 10
cook time: 118

ingredients

  • vinaigrette:
  • 4 1/2 teaspoons tarragon white-wine vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 dash black pepper
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • salad:
  • 2 medium beets (1 pound with greens, 1 3/4 cups without greens), stems trimmed to 2 inches
  • 1 pound small new potatoes (about 1 inch in diameter) or fingerlings (1 inches long), scrubbed well
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 dash salt
  • 2/3 cup microgreens such as baby Bibb, red-leaf, and oak-leaf lettuces and baby arugula, or mesclun (about 2 1/2 quarts)
  • 1 quart baby spinach (1/3 cup)
  • 1/3 cup lovage leaves, coarsely chopped
  • 1/3 cup fresh chervil and/or dill leaves
  • 1/3 cup fresh tarragon leaves
  • 20 unsprayed organic nasturtium blossoms

directions

Make vinaigrette:

Whisk together vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified.

Roast beets and potatoes:

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Wrap beets individually in foil and roast on a baking sheet in upper third of oven until tender, 1 hours. Once beets have roasted for 30 minutes, toss potatoes with oil and salt in a small baking pan and roast in lower third of oven, shaking pan occasionally, until potatoes are tender, 28 minutes. Carefully unwrap beets and cool slightly, then slip off and discard skins.

Assemble salad:

Cut beets into 0.333 inch dice and put in a large salad bowl. Cut potatoes into 0.333 inch-thick slices and add to beets along with all greens and herbs. Add vinaigrette and toss gently to coat.

Sprinkle blossoms on top and serve immediately.