Roasted Beet and Radish Salad with Goat Cheese

My mom is an artist. She tends to fill her grocery cart with fruit and vegetables chosen largely for their beauty, which helps explain why I appreciate beets and radishes. This salad, featuring both, is the kind of extravagantly bright meal my mother would love. I didn’t catch on to the practice of roasting radishes until a few years ago. Roasting turns a radish into a different vegetable—one that’s mild and creamy instead of sharp and tangy, more root vegetable than salad fixing. I’m a fan. Small tip: Peel your beets after roasting them; the skin just slips off.

Prep to table: 50 minutes | Serves: 3 to 4

Ingredients

4 to 5 medium red beets, cut into wedges
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
¾ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup trimmed and halved radishes
Freshly ground black pepper
4 to 5 cups mild salad greens
2 green onions, thinly sliced
½ cup crumbled goat cheese
½ to ¾ cup walnut pieces
Vinegar and oil salad dressing

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Toss the beets on a sheet pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and the thyme, and roast for 25 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and raise the oven temperature to 425 degrees. Add the radishes, the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and ¼ teaspoon of salt, and toss with the beets. Return the pan to the oven and roast for another 15 minutes, or until the beets are tender when pierced with a fork.

Peel the beets once they’ve cooled. Combine the peeled beets and radishes in a medium salad bowl with the greens, green onions, goat cheese, and walnuts. Just before serving, dress with vinegar and oil salad dressing

Easy ingredient swaps