Hi everyone! I have a great salad recipe today. Beets are becoming one of my favorite fall vegetables and I’m trying to find new fun ways to use them. This salad is topped with golden beets, but you could certainly use the red ones. I like the crisp texture they give a dish like this, and the color is just great, too. The earthiness of the beets mixed with the peppery taste of the arugula and the tartness of the cranberries gives this simple salad a great complex flavor. We had this salad with a delicious salmon recipe which will be coming to Dad vs. Dinner soon!

Golden Beet and Arugula Salad    serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 medium golden beets
• 4 handfuls of baby arugula
• Parmesan cheese (enough to shave about 16-20 slices)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
• White balsamic vinegar

Preparation

Peel the beets and chop into about 8 pieces or 3/4″ chunks if your beets are larger. Steam for about 8-10 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool a bit.

Fill 4 salad bowls with the arugula.  Top each with 1/4 of the beets, then shave 4-5 pieces of the parmesan with a peeler over each salad. Sprinkle the cranberries over next, then season with salt and pepper, as desired. Drizzle with olive oil and a nice white balsamic vinegar – keep it simple so you don’t overpower the flavors of the other ingredients.

Of course, you could do this as one large salad and serve family style, too.  Hope you give it a try. Let me know what you think in the comments!