Beet Salad With Feta, Orange and Mint

From Alfred Portale author of Simple Pleasures. An easy, beautiful, nutritious and most importantly, delicious salad. An interesting blend of ingredients, none too salty or too sweet. An impressive dish in appearance alone.

• Ready In: 1 hr 45 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2  large beets, washed but not peeled
• 2  tablespoons olive oil
•  coarse salt
•  fresh ground black pepper
• 1  teaspoon  freshly squeezed  orange juice
• 2  teaspoons  balsamic vinegar
• 4 1⁄2 teaspoons  extra-virgin olive oil
• 3  oranges, preferably navel, peeled and separated into segments (can sub blood oranges or tangerines)
• 1⁄4 cup  coarsely chopped mint leaf
• 3  teaspoons  minced shallots
• 1  cup  french feta cheese (can sub blue cheese or goat cheese) or 1  cup Greek feta cheese, crumbled into large pieces (can sub blue cheese or goat cheese)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. In a bowl, toss the beets with the olive oil and season them with salt and pepper. Put the beets on a roasting pan and cover them with foil. Roast in the preheated oven until tender, about 1 1/2 hours. (They are done when a sharp, thin-bladed knife can easily pierce through to their center.) Remove the pan from the oven, remove the beets from the pan and set them aside to cool.
3. While the beets are roasting, make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice, balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
4. When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel and cut them into 1/2-inch dice. Put them in a bowl with 1 cup of the orange segments, the mint and the shallots. Add the vinaigrette, season with salt and pepper and toss gently.
5. Transfer the salad to a platter. Arrange the cheese and the remaining orange sections on top. Serve.