Root vegetables are budget conscious cooks’ best friends. They’re cheap, store well, and are (usually) full of flavor. Beets are one of my favorite varieties, so when temperatures dipped into the teens last week, I thought it was the perfect time to roast a few. I combined them with roasted sweet potatoes, dried cranberries, and mixed greens to create salads for lunch at work.

If you’ve never roasted beets before, it’s a simple process. Simply wash, roast, and peel. A beet roasting guide with photos and a recipe for a roasted beet salad can be found after the jump.

Roasted Red & Golden Beets

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400º F

2. If your beets come with leaves, cut them off. Scrub as much dirt as possible off of the beets and dry them thoroughly. Slice the tops off if you’d like, but it’s not required at this stage. I removed the tops in the photo below, revealing the red and golden beet flesh.

3. Wrap the beets up in an aluminum foil pocket. Create the pocket by folding a sheet of foil in half and crimping the edges. Don’t crimp the edged too tightly as you’ll want some steam to escape. Place the pocket on a baking sheet that’s also covered in aluminum foil. (If any beet juice escapes from the pocket, it can be difficult to scrub off the sheet later.)

4. Roast the beets for one hour (or until the beets are tender when poked with a fork).

5. Remove the beets from the oven and let them cool for 15-20 minutes.

6. Once they’re cool, peel the beets using a knife (and your hands as needed)  and slice them as desired. Red beets will stain your hands, so make sure to wash them quickly after peeling. Some people put on gloves to avoid staining, but I’ve found dish soap and some scrubbing removes most of the beet juice.

7. If you’d like to use the beets for a salad, dice the beets into half inch cubes. Toss with mixed greens, roasted sweet potatoes (peeedl, diced into half-inch cubes, tossed with a little olive oil, and roasted at 400º for about 30 minutes or until tender), dried cranberries, and a balsamic vinaigrette. A few thin slices of goat cheese would also be a great addition.

As a child, I despised Fig Newtons more than any other lunch bag item. I couldn’t stand the mealy texture of their filling or the moist cookie surrounding it, even though the commercials hailed them as a refined confection. They had no animated mascot or commercials featuring rebellious kids with fruit heads. All I wanted was a pack of Dunkaroos or a bag of Gushers before running off to band practice, so more often than not, the Newtons would end up traded to an unsuspecting 2nd grader or in the trash.

This hatred of Fig Newtons resulted in me never trying a fresh fig until last year. They were easy to avoid in the Northeast, however when I came across a fig and prosciutto salad during my lunch hour, I decided it was time to grow up and I’m so glad I did. Fresh figs are nothing like their mashed and mangled cousins in Fig Newtons. They’re incredibly sweet and have a texture unlike any other fruit I’ve tried.

I was inspired by this salad from Last Night’s Dinner and I made my own version for dinner today. It’s a combination of figs, goat cheese, blueberries, and greens that come together with a balsamic vinaigrette. Recipe and more photos after the jump.

Fig and Goat Cheese Salad
Inspired by Last Night’s Dinner
(Ingredient amounts for the salad are up to you, but I’ve provided general guidelines based my on preferences for two servings)
Salad
-4 figs, quartered
-1/2 cup blueberries
-1 oz goat cheese, cut into chunks
-2 cups arugula or mixed baby greens
-Sprinkling of walnuts (if desired)

Dressing
-1/2 cup olive oil
-1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
-1/2 tbs. Dijon mustard
-1/2 small minced shallot
-Salt and pepper to taste

1) Toss together salad ingredients in a medium bowl.

2) In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar and mustard. Whisk in oil in a steady stream, then add the minced shallot. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3) Add desired amount of dressing to salad and store the remaining vinaigrette in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to three days.