Roasted-Beet and Citrus Salad With Ricotta and Pistachio Vinaigrette Recipe (2024)

Why It Works

  • Beets and citrus are a classic combination for a reason.
  • Pistachios and honey emulsify the dressing easily, while using grapefruit and orange juice boosts flavor.
  • Roasting the beets in a foil pouch concentrates flavor.

I'm all for innovation and wild and crazy ideas, but sometimes it's okay to find a winning formula and stick with it, especially when that time is dinnertime. There's a reason beets and citrus are a staple of winter salads: They go insanely well together. But within those constraints, there's pretty much no end to the combinations of salads you can make.

Roasted-Beet and Citrus Salad With Ricotta and Pistachio Vinaigrette Recipe (1)

How to Customize a Beet Citrus Salad

It's safe to say that I rarely make the exact same beet and citrus salad twice. I'll swap out the beet variety, or the citrus, or the nuts. I'll add bitter greens or boiled eggs. I may add a creamy cheese, or maybe I'll spice and candy those nuts. This particular salad, made with roasted beets, grapefruit, oranges, fresh ricotta, and a pistachio vinaigrette, is not all that different from mybeet, citrus, and pine nut salad. You can criticize me for that. I'm okay with it.

I start by cooking a couple of different varieties of beets. There's more than one way to cook a beet, but I tend to prefer dry roasting methods over boiling—they come out with a more concentrated sweet and earthy flavor that way. Of all the methods I've tried, foil pouches work best. When you toss beets, a little oil, and a few herb sprigs in tightly sealed foil pouches, the beets end up cooking in their own vaporized juices, in a sort of steam–roast hybrid. Once they're roasted—which takes about an hour and a half of unsupervised time in a 375°F (190°C) oven—the skins slip off easily under cool running water. An hour and a half of roasting is a long time for a single salad, but luckily, that's a step you can do in advance. Just cool the beets and throw them in the fridge, and they'll be ready to go whenever you are.

Using Nuts in a Vinaigrette

For the vinaigrette, I gently pound pistachios with a granitemortar and pestleuntil they're broken up, but not totally pulverized. You can also use a knife if you don't have a mortar and pestle. If you decide to go the knife route, take a five-minute break after chopping and consider what previous choices have led to your mortar-and-pestle-free existence, and what steps you might take in the future to ameliorate the situation.

The nice thing about including nuts in a vinaigrette is that the small particles of nut add extra agitation as you're whisking it together, which makes forming a stable emulsion really easy. I set aside some of the pounded pistachios for garnish, then whisk together the rest with minced shallots, lemon juice, honey, herbs, and extra-virgin olive oil. (Read up more onthe science of vinaigrettes and emulsions here.)

Roasted-Beet and Citrus Salad With Ricotta and Pistachio Vinaigrette Recipe (2)

Preparing Citrus for a Salad

With the citrus, I'm honestly not all that picky. I do like the bittersweet flavor of grapefruit, but oranges or pomelos or even bits of Meyer lemon would do just fine. The key is to cut them properly so as to minimize the amount of stringy pith that gets into the salad. That means eithercutting the fruit intosuprèmes, or peeling and slicing it crosswise in order to keep those individual bits of pith short.

To boost the citrus flavor in the vinaigrette, I add to it the juice from whatever fruit I'm using as well.

When I'm ready to serve the salad, I cut all the beets into bite-size pieces—spraying your cutting board with a thin coating of nonstick spray will make cleaning up red beet juice much easier, by the way!—then toss them with the citrus and vinaigrette. The only real key here is to make sure to toss the red beets separately from everything else; otherwise, they end up turning the whole salad pink. Not the end of the world, but not as pretty on the plate.

After that, I spread a big spoonful of fresh ricotta cheese over the plate, pile on the beets and citrus, add a few more dollops of ricotta, drizzle any remaining dressing around, and then sprinkle it all with the remaining pistachios.

Roasted-Beet and Citrus Salad With Ricotta and Pistachio Vinaigrette Recipe (3)

A great beet salad is sort of like watchingStar Wars, or waking up next to my wife, Adri, every morning: familiar, comforting, and exciting all at once.

February 2017

Recipe Details

Roasted-Beet and Citrus Salad With Ricotta and Pistachio Vinaigrette Recipe

Prep15 mins

Cook105 mins

Active30 mins

Total2 hrs

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds (about 1kg) beets, unpeeled, greens removed, scrubbed clean

  • 1/4 cup (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil, divided

  • 2 sprigs thyme or rosemary (optional)

  • Koshersalt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1/4 cup toasted shelled pistachios (about 2 ounces; 55g)

  • 1 grapefruit,cut into suprèmes or wedges, 1 tablespoon (15ml) juice reserved separately

  • 1 orange, cut into suprèmes or wedges, 1 tablespoon (15ml) juice reserved separately

  • 2 teaspoons (10ml) juice from 1 lemon

  • 1 small shallot, finely minced (about 1 ounce; 30g)

  • 2 tablespoons (about 15g) minced fresh parsley, tarragon, or chervil

  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) honey

  • 1 cup (200g) fresh ricotta

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Fold a 12- by 24-inch sheet of aluminum foil in half to form a square. Crimp 2 edges to form a pouch. Toss beets, 1 tablespoon (15ml) olive oil, rosemary or thyme sprigs (if using), and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl until beets are coated. Add to pouch and crimp remaining edge to seal. (If using multiple colors of beets, roast in separate pouches.) Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and place in oven. Roast until beets are completely tender and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into a beet through foil meets little to no resistance, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove from oven and allow to cool. When beets are cool enough to handle, peel by gently rubbing skin under cold running water. Cut beets into 1 1/2–inch chunks. Beets can be cooked and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

  2. Place pistachios in a mortar and pound with pestle until lightly crushed but not totally pulverized. (You can also chop them with a knife.) Transfer half of nuts to a large bowl and reserve the rest for garnish.

    Roasted-Beet and Citrus Salad With Ricotta and Pistachio Vinaigrette Recipe (4)

  3. Add grapefruit juice, orange juice, lemon juice, shallot, minced herbs, and honey to bowl with pistachios and whisk to combine. Drizzle in remaining 3 tablespoons (45ml) olive oil while whisking constantly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

  4. To Serve: Toss beets and citrus with vinaigrette in a large bowl (if using red beets, toss them separately from everything else) and season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread half of ricotta over a serving platter, place dressed beets and citrus on top, dollop with remaining ricotta, sprinkle with reserved pistachios, and serve.

    Roasted-Beet and Citrus Salad With Ricotta and Pistachio Vinaigrette Recipe (5)

Special Equipment

Mortar and pestle, rimmed baking sheet

Read More

  • How to Roast Beets
  • Beets
  • Roasted Vegetables
  • Ricotta
  • Grapefruit
  • Pistachios
Roasted-Beet and Citrus Salad With Ricotta and Pistachio Vinaigrette Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is it better to roast or boil beets for salad? ›

My favorite way to cook beets is to roast them, which gives a sweeter, richer, and deeper flavor than boiling does. Another advantage is that they don't bleed as much, especially if they're roasted whole.

Should beets be peeled before baking? ›

TIPS FOR cooking beets

Keep checking whichever method you're using. Don't remove the beet skin before cooking. It's really not necessary and it's much easier to do so after cooking. Some also find that removing the skin prior to cooking takes away some of the beet's earthy test.

Is beets and cottage cheese good for you? ›

Many times I make my 5 Minute Cottage Cheese and Beet Salad because it is high in protein, low in carbs, and has plenty of vegetables. I figured I would share one of my weekly lunch staples because I want you to see how easy, healthy, and delicious a mid-day meal can be.

What makes beets taste better? ›

Roasting beets deepens their natural sugars while tempering bitterness. Bake whole, wrapped beets at 400°F for 60-75 minutes until easily pierced by a fork. Allow to cool before peeling and juicing. Incorporating roasted beets creates a smoother, mellower, almost nutty-flavored blended juice.

Are roasted beets still healthy? ›

Some benefits of eating beets may include lower blood pressure and better athletic performance, among others. Eating beets raw or juicing and roasting them may be more beneficial than boiling them. Beetroots, commonly known as beets, are a vibrant and versatile type of vegetable.

What do beets do for your health? ›

Beets are a versatile food, full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, and other plant compounds responsible for various health benefits. Eating beets may help protect your heart health, reduce high blood pressure, support your endurance for workouts, and benefit your digestive system.

Should beets be washed before cooking? ›

Wash beets thoroughly under cool running water. Do not use soap. Keep beets away from raw meats and meat juice to prevent cross contamination.

Can you eat beet skin after roasting? ›

Sometimes beets are peeled before cooking. They may also be scrubbed and cooked until tender with their skins on; the skins slip off fairly easily after cooling. (Some people are happy to leave the skins on; they are fine to eat.) You can also pickle cooked beets.

Can diabetics eat beet salad? ›

Consuming beets appears to be especially beneficial for people living with diabetes. Beets can help lower the risk of complications that may arise from an unmanaged condition, including nerve damage and eye damage. Beets are also versatile, delicious, and easy to include in all kinds of recipes.

Do roasted beets have a lot of sugar? ›

It's true that beets do have more sugars than many other vegetables—about 8 grams in a serving of two small beets. But that's hardly the same as getting 8 grams of sugars from a cookie. "Beets are high in fiber, which traps the sugar and slows its absorption into the bloodstream," Linsenmeyer says.

How healthy is beet salad? ›

Packed with nutrition, beets have antioxidants like betalains that fight cell damage and inflammation, potentially offering protection against cancer and heart disease. Health benefits of beets include more stamina during exercise, heart disease and stroke prevention, and lower blood pressure.

Is ricotta cheese good for you? ›

Ricotta cheese is a great source of several important nutrients. Although the non-fat ricotta cheese nutrition profile and low-fat ricotta cheese nutrition profile may vary slightly, most varieties are rich in protein, calcium, selenium and phosphorus, as well as several other nutrients.

How many times a week should you eat beets? ›

Moreover, beets are low in calories with zero cholesterol and a small amount of fat. However, the root is high in sugar and carbohydrates, so while you can consume the greens on top of the root in unlimited quantities, you should only have the root a few times a week. Beets are best from early spring to late fall.

What kind of cheese does not cause constipation? ›

It is possible to enjoy cottage cheese still and have it as a part of an individual's eating plan. Combining it with high fiber foods or making sure there are plenty of high fiber foods in one's diet can make it possible to have cottage cheese and avoid the side effect of constipation.

What is the best cooking method for beets? ›

Steaming beets is a healthful cooking method because they retain most of their vitamins and minerals—they're not boiled out in water—and stay incredibly vibrant. Plus, steaming small beets or beet quarters is quick and easy for weeknights.

Are beets better steamed or roasted? ›

While roasting yields flavorful results, steaming beets makes their skin easier to peel off and makes them tender and more pleasant to eat.

Is it better to cook beets or eat them raw? ›

Raw beets contain more vitamins, minerals and antioxidants than cooked beets (yes, you can eat beets raw!). Like many vegetables, the longer you cook beets—especially in water—the more the colorful phytonutrients leach out of the food and into the water.

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