Lisa attended a Super Foods class tonight, and I was inspired to create a quick side-dish featuring one… beets! The dish, from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, sounded super easy to make, and it was — roasted beets are sliced along with avocado, and spooned over the top is a lemon vinaigrette with tarragon and red onion. Perfect — and should only take about 15-20 minutes, right? Right! Unfortunately, I totally zoned the fact that, um, yeah: I’d have to roast the beets first. Gah! That’s like an hour just for that step! So there went my relaxing, look-how-quick-this-was side dish. Oh well, the good news was that Lisa wasn’t going to arrive until late anyway, so I was able to finish up dinner just a few minutes after she walked in the door. Note to self: Think through recipes before deciding when to start!

Lisa says:

That class made me so hungry — a few hours talking about nothing but food!

Chris says:

Well, you can start on this now…

Lisa says:

Hey, did you know beets were a super food?

Chris says:

I knew they were a super-delicious food…

Lisa says:

I heart this dish… and… for once, I don’t think these beets taste like dirt!

Chris says:

Hooray for CSA beets. This is a great combo… the avocado is perfect. Just a little firmer than one I’d pick if I was making guacamole.

Lisa says:

Mmmm-hmmmm… this is excellent.

Beet and Avocado Salad
3-4 medium beets
1 very large avocado
1 small red onion, minced
1/3 cup light olive oil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
pinch dried tarragon
salt and freshly ground pepper

Set the oven to 400 degrees and wrap each beet in aluminum foil. Place the beets on a cooking sheet and into the oven for 45 minutes to an hour, until a knife pressed into a beet gives little resistance. (The beets may cook at different rates). Remove and set aside.
To make the vinaigrette, place the olive oil, lemon juice, and a tablespoon of warm water into a blender and pulse until emulsified. Pour into a bowl with the minced onions and tarragon.
When the beets are cool, peel and slice them. Pit, peel, and slice the avocado. Arrange the beet and avocado slices in alternating layers in a dish. Whisk again the vinaigrette and spoon over the beets and avocados. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

4 Servings