Blue and Gold Salad

I love salad and I love Spring and I love California and all of that comes together in this dish--a salad that reminds me of Spring in California when all the  wildflowers are in bloom—like this scene from A Taste of Honey (Oberon, book 4):

“It was a glorious Spring day.  The air along the coast was warm and lushly scented with yerba buena, eucalyptus and sage.  Fat, majestic puffs sailed across the sky, casting cloud-shaped shadows onto the earth and sea below, further mottling the already variegated landscape.  When she turned off the coast road onto the canyon drive that led to the nursery, she saw that the  hills that lined the way, gray-green, emerald, and gold for most of the year, had been transformed.  They’d blossomed overnight into an almost endless expanse of  orange and blue--mostly California poppies and lupine--disrupted only where the spiky silver foliage and dried flower heads of wild artichokes broke through to tower above them.” 

Ingredients

4 golden beets

4 purple potatoes
3 Tbs EVOO
1 pinch fresh rosemary
1 pinch thyme
salt and pepper to taste

¼  cup + 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp honey

1 pinch each of fresh rosemary and thyme, finely chopped

Juice from ½ Meyer lemon

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 golden beets

4 purple potatoes

4 slices Applewood smoked bacon

6 cups fresh arugula or Mesclun salad mix

2 Granny Smith apples

½  cup walnuts

¼  cup dried cherries

½  avocado, cut into cubes

3 ounces coarsely crumbled goat cheese (preferably chèvre)

Directions

Line baking sheet with foil. Preheat oven to 350 F.

Clean, peel and chop beets and potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Toss with 3 Tbsp olive oil, herbs and seasonings to coat then arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove pan from oven and stir contents. Add walnuts and drizzle honey over beets, potatoes and walnuts. Return to oven for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until beets and potatoes are tender and slightly caramelized.

Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.

While beets and potatoes are cooking, Cook bacon until crisp. Set aside to cool and then crumble.

Chop apples into small pieces.

In a small bowl, combine lemon juice with ½ tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. pepper. Slowly whisk in olive oil until vinaigrette comes together. Adjust seasonings as needed. 

Serve with a nice glass or Rose or Chardonnay and enjoy!

And please check out these other Tasty Tuesday blogs for more great eats!

Quick Maple Pudding by Nancy Lauzon

Chili Throwdown by Selena Robins