Winter Beet Salad with Popped Wild Rice
We’re giving the classic roasted beet and fresh citrus winter salad an unexpected twist: a popped wild rice topping. Wild rice is a dried seed, not a grain, so it pops up like popcorn. And like its snacking cousin, it’s just as easy to make. Learn how to make Popped Wild Rice here.
Make ahead all the components of this salad--roasted beets, citrus segments and dressing--up to 3 days in advance and store in separate covered containers in the refrigerator. Popped Wild Rice can be made up to 3 days in advance, too. Just store it in a closed container at room temperature. Assemble salad right before serving.
Sectioning citrus into French-style supremes, adds an elegant touch, and it’s fairly easy to do with the instructions below.
- Duration
- Cook Time
- Prep Time
- 6Servings
Ingredients
Tangerine Honey Vinaigrette:
- ⅓ cup tangerine juice or orange juice
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- Winter Beet Salad:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 large mixed color beets, not peeled
- 1 large orange, cut into supremes*
- 1 large grapefruit, cut into supremes*
- 1 blood orange, sliced
- Tangerine Honey Vinaigrette
- Garnish: popped wild rice (recipe link under photo)
Preparation
Tangerine Honey Vinaigrette:
1. In a small bowl, whisk tangerine juice and honey together. While whisking, drizzle in evoo, bit by bit until the vinaigrette is emulsified. Season with salt and pepper. Or place all ingredients in a jar with a lid. Shake and store or use over salad.
Winter Beet Salad:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Drizzle beets with evoo and wrap in foil. Roast beets in a 400°F oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a knife easily pierces beets without any resistance. Cool beets and dice into 1-inch pieces.
3. Arrange beets and citrus supremes* on a large serving platter. Drizzle with vinaigrette and sprinkle with Popped Wild Rice.
4. For make ahead salad, roast and dice beets and store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Citrus segments and salad dressing can be made ahead and stored covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, too. Popped Wild Rice can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored covered at room temperature. Assemble salad right before serving.
*How to Supreme Citrus:
1. With a sharp paring knife, cut off a small section from the top and bottom of the fruit. This gives fruit stability, and keeps it from rolling around.
2. Cut off the rind from top to bottom, following the curve of the fruit. Remove both the rind and the pith (white bitter part) but not the fruit. Continue until all rind and pit is removed.
3. Over a small bowl, hold the fruit in one hand, and cut halfway into the fruit at one of the dividing membranes. Cut on the other side of the segment along the membrane. This should release the segment or supreme. Continue until all segments are cut out. Squeeze juice into a bowl and discard the membranes.
