Beet “Lasagna” (and a new camera lens)

Beets are one of my recent obsessions. The taste, the color, the nutritional benefits—what’s not to love? Even the most thrown-together beet and goat cheese salads look fantastic, but I wanted to really up the ante to break in my new Sigma 70mm f2.8 EX DG Macro Lens.

The result of some kitchen experimentation and a little consultation with the The Flavor Bible was my very own Beet “Lasagna”: delicious slices of roasted red and golden beets sandwiching creamy goat cheese, crushed walnuts, razor-thinly sliced shallots, topped with crisp micro greens and drizzled with blood orange balsamic vinaigrette. It looks beautiful, tastes better, and is easy as can be. And the new lens rocked it out.

Beet “Lasagna”: A beet, goat cheese and blood orange salad

(serves 2-4)

You’ll need:

2-3 medium sized red beets

2-3 medium sized golden beets

1/2 cup of walnuts

1 small container of micro greens

small package of goat cheese (about 6 oz)

one shallot, sliced thin

1/2 blood orange, sliced, for garnish

Blood orange balsamic vinaigrette dressing

1/2 blood orange

1 teaspoon honey

1 tablespoon balsamic or balsamic reduction

1/2 cup high-quality extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees scrub beets and remove greens. Place on a sheet of tin foil and drizzle generously with olive oil, then cover with another sheet and fold the edges in to create a foil packet. Put in the oven and cook for about an hour, or until beets are tender and the skin easily slides off when scraped with the side of a fork.

Meanwhile, blend all the ingredients for the dressing and refrigerate. Prep other ingredients by slicing shallots, crushing walnuts and peeling and slicing blood orange half for garnish.

When beets are finished roasting remove from oven and *carefully* open the foil packet. Let the beets cool slightly and scrape the skin off with a fork.

Cut beets in thin slices and begin to layer your “lasagna”. Start with a red beet, spread a small bit of goat cheese, sprinkle with walnuts, place a slice of shallot on top of the goat cheese/walnuts, and top with a golden beet slice. Repeat once more and top the final red beet with a dollop of goat cheese and micro greens.

Garnish the plate with whole walnuts and blood oranges, and drizzle with dressing. Top with fresh-ground pepper.