Roasted Carrot, Beet Buratta Salad
This is what is referred to in the kitchen at Red Stick Spice as a “Lili salad” which means it’s amazing, but has a few steps. I’m telling you it is a holiday show stopper and worth the few extra steps
Ingredients:
Roasted Carrots (recipe follows)
Roasted Beets (recipe follows)
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
8 oz burrata, torn into pieces
2 avocados, sliced
4 mandarins, peeled and sections pulled apart
4-6 cups of greens, spinach, baby kale, arugula, red leaf lettuce
¼ cup pistachios, chopped
Orange Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Roasted Carrots Ingredients:
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
¼ tsp crushed red chile flakes
Salt and ground black pepper
1 Tbl red wine vinegar
2 Tbl extra virgin olive oil
1 pound medium-size carrots peeled
Roasted Carrot Directions:
Heat oven to 400 °
In a small food processor or a mortar, pulse or pound the garlic with the cumin, thyme, chile flakes, 1½ teaspoons salt and ¾ teaspoon pepper to make a paste. Add vinegar and 2 tablespoons of the oil, and mix well.
Cut carrots in half lengthwise and cut across to make 4-inch segments.
Arrange carrots in a roasting pan and spread spice paste on top. Roast until carrots are tender and starting to brown, about 45 minutes.
Roasted Beets Ingredients:
6 to 8 medium red or golden beets (about 2 pounds)
1 tablespoon Arbequina Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Kosher salt and freshly
Ground black pepper
1 fresh herb sprig, such as thyme, rosemary, sage or parsley, optional
Roasted Beet Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Cut off the leafy tops of the beets, leaving about 1/2 inch of stem, and reserve them for another use. Wash the beets well to remove all of the sand.
Toss the beets with the oil, 1 tablespoon water, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a large bowl. Transfer the beets to a large piece of foil, add the herb sprig if using and wrap the foil up into a packet. Put the packet on a baking sheet and roast until fork-tender, 40 to 50 minutes depending on the size of the beets.
Carefully open the packet, watching out for steam. Let the beets cool for 5 minutes, then peel while still warm by rubbing off the skins with paper towels. Slice beets as needed for recipe.
Orange Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
2 Tbl sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
2-3 tsp orange zest, from 1 orange
⅓ cup orange juice, from 1 orange
2 tsp honey
1 Tbl Dijon mustard
⅓ cup Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbl minced shallot
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
Directions:
In a small bowl whisk together all of the ingredients until fully combined and emulsified. Will keep for up to 1 week refrigerated in an airtight container.
To assemble salad:
In a large bowl, add the greens, sliced fennel, and mandarin segments season with salt and pepper. Add 2-3 Tbl orange vinaigrette and toss to coat the leaves.
On a large platter, place a layer of beets around the edge of the platter season with salt and pepper.
Follow by adding a layer of the roasted carrots next to the beets. Add a layer of the sliced avocados nest to the carrots. Season the avocados with salt and pepper. Tear burrata cheese into pieces and lay next to the avocados. Leaving a large opening in the middle of the platter for the salad mixture. Drizzle the beets, carrots and avocados and burrata with the vinaigrette.