By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- 1 hour 45 minutes
- Rating
- 5(404)
- Notes
- Read community notes
The colors of the vegetables were the inspiration behind this beautiful salad. You may be fooled into thinking the orange vegetables next to the dark beets are sliced golden beets, but they are slices of roasted kabocha squash.
Featured in: Winter Squash, Five Ways
Learn: How to Make Salad
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Ingredients
Yield:6 servings
- 2pounds kabocha or butternut squash
- 1bunch beets, with greens
- 2tablespoons red wine or sherry vinegar
- 1teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1small garlic clove, minced or put through a press
- 4tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2tablespoons walnut oil
- 3tablespoons chopped walnuts (about 1½ ounces)
- 2tablespoons mixed chopped fresh herbs, like parsley, mint, tarragon, chives
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
274 calories; 18 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 27 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 594 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Roast the beets. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the greens off of the beets, leaving about ½ inch of the stems attached. Scrub the beets and place in a baking dish or ovenproof casserole. Add about ¼ inch water to the dish. Cover tightly with a lid or foil, and bake 35 to 40 minutes, until the beets are tender. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. If not using right away, refrigerate in a covered bowl
Step
2
Line another roasting pan with foil or parchment and brush with olive oil. Peel the squash and cut in ½-inch thick slices. Toss with 2 teaspoons of the olive oil and salt to taste and place on the baking sheet. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, turning halfway through, until lightly browned and tender. You can do this at the same time that you roast the beets, but watch carefully if you need to put the baking sheet on a lower shelf. Remove from the heat and allow to cool
Step
3
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil while you stem and wash the greens. Add salt to the water, and blanch the greens for 1 minute or until tender. Transfer the greens to a bowl of cold water, then drain and squeeze out the water. Chop coarsely
Step
4
Mix together the vinegars, garlic, salt, pepper, the remaining olive oil and the walnut oil. When the beets are cool enough to handle, trim the ends off, slip off their skins, cut in half, then slice into half-moon shapes. Toss with half the salad dressing. In a separate bowl, toss the roasted squash with the remaining dressing
Step
5
Place the greens on a platter, leaving a space in the middle. Arrange the beets and squash in alternating rows in the middle of the platter. Sprinkle on the fresh herbs and the walnuts. If desired, sprinkle on crumbled feta. Serve
- Advance preparation: Roasted beets and squash will keep for 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator. Cooked beet greens will keep for about 3 days, and can be reheated. The salad will hold in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, but it's prettiest when served right away.
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Cooking Notes
nablaze
This was delicious, but I would not bother with the beet greens next time, it didn't add much for the amount of work. I would substitute arugula, I think the color would be better and I would use more than the greens from the beets yielded.
DNA
I find it easier to cook the beets by wrapping them in foil and baking them for about an hour. Then there's no pan to wash. Also, I skipped the greens and added a small sliced red onion, two clementines (peeled and sliced, of course) and a handful of salted cashews. I kept the beets, dressing, and other ingredients separate for a few days and assembled everything before company came. It was a hit!
Diana
Brilliant recipe! This was the star dish at a local chef-heavy potluck. Winter vegetables from my cellar and so colorful! A few changes: used pan-toasted pecans instead of walnuts (which can be bitter), used my own vinaigrette for dressing. Recommend a ‘tasting dish’ as you assemble this - it will need more dressing & salting than you think. In spite of having an anti-sweet tooth, I added triple the usual honey to the vinaigrette - both the beets and the winter squash loved that.
Aitona
Just happened to have a bunch of beets and a butternut squash in the house yesterday. So I prepared the beets, greens and squash last night and finished things off today for a light evening meal. Not bothering to re-read the recipe, I assembled everything and then added some chopped walnuts and feta. Completely forgot the dressing and herbs. And, hey, it was still tasty. I will definitely try again.
Julie Yeggy
I've made this multiple times, using olive oil instead of walnut and delicata squash instead of kabocha (easier to use-don't have to peel, just cut in half lengthwise and then seed and cut into 1/2 slices.) I don't do the beet greens and instead serve alone or on a bed of arugula. I substitute pecans for walnuts and sprinkle with fresh parsley and feta. I dress the squash first and then drain off the excess dressing and put it on the beets. It is a stunning salad to bring to a fall potluck.
Noelle
This recipe is very similar to one from the cookbook Jerusalem, which is served over arugula and is very tasty. Also, when roasting beets, I typically wrap individually in aluminum foil - makes for very easy cleanup.
Kay
So, so good. I had already put my beet greens to another use, so I substituted lacinato kale, blanching in the same way. I didn't arrange everything like in Step 5, just tossed it all together, and no feta (don't love cheese on salad, that's just me.) Gorgeous and so delicious. It's a lot of steps, but worth it and you can break it down over a few days and then put it all together when you have time.
stephani
This was fantastic!!! I needed a quick weeknight meal I used the cooked beets and bought the already cut up squash for an easy peasy. I nixed the beet greens. Added some butter lettuce I needed to use and arugula and made a full bowl salad. Add some chopped cherry tomatoes. Made the dressing with an immersion blender and added more garlic and some hemp seeds. ** chefs kiss **
Peter M.
This is by far the worst NYT Cooking recipe I’ve ever made. The instructions were unclear and full of unnecessary steps that a good food editor should have caught. The dressing really didn’t harmonize the flavors. The finished product was remarkably unremarkable. No comments from the thanksgiving guests said it all.
mich
I am not sure what happened but the dressing tasted strongly of vinegar and I kept trying to rescue it.
Kaela
I put it over a bed of arugula and lentils to make it a full meal. And the dressing definitely needs something sweet! I added maple syrup.
MW
The beets can be cooked for 15 minutes in the Instant Pot! Skin on, remove the long skinny roots, then slice them in half. Put in Instant Pot with 1-2 inches of water. Cook and on high pressure for 15 minutes. Release pressure, let beets cool till they can be handled. Peel the skin away with your fingers (I wear gloves to keep my fingers from being stained), and slice for the salad as instructed.
BSD
I was lazy (and dinner was getting late) so I got as far as roasting the beets and kabocha, then freestyled the rest: roasted pieces atop arugula topped with leftover roasted chicken breast, feta, and pumpkin seeds. Drizzled with a bottled vinagrette. My husband couldn't stop raving about how flavorful it was. Winner!
alisa
I added goat cheese instead of feta and this was a delicious winter salad. I like that the greens of the beets are used to avoid waste and keeps it simple.
cooked tip
Put atop arugula Candied chopped walnuts on top
jp
Very good combination. I steamed the greens in the microwave; much less fuss.
L. Whetstone
The beets I bought didn’t have greens attached so I served it on top of mixed greens. It was delicious! I had champagne vinegar so I used that instead of sherry. Great autumn side dish
elizabeth
Wrapped beets in foil and roasted about 30 minutes. Reduce heat. Cut larger pieces of squash reduce heat, bake only about 15 minutes. Serve on arugula with feta and mint. Didn’t have walnut oil. Just fine.
M
Top with feta or crumbled goat cheese!
Trial and Error
After the beets were still not soft after an hour in the oven I realized the timing depends on the size of the beets. Mine weren't huge, but I finally gave up when they were crunchy enough to pierce, it was too unwieldy lifting a steaming casserole out of the oven to check. Next time I will peel them and slice them first, and possibly simmer them. I saved the liquid for later use.
Suzanne Wilmoth
My beet greens got slimy before I was ready to cook this, so (of course) I left out that step and served this warm on a thin bed of couscous. I was heavy handed with the mint. Really good. Thanks for the delicious recipe.
Rachel
How many beets are in a bunch? Where I live they are sold individually.
Trial and Error
a recipe that gives the squash by weight should also give the beets by weight or indicate that the ratio doesn't matter, one or the other; also beets vary in size
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