Hedden Family Recipes

Roasted beet, arugula, and walnut salad

Ingredients:

• 1 pound beets, peeled
• 8 ounces of orzo or acini di pepe or other similar pasta
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• ½ teaspoon coarse salt, divided
• ½ teaspoon ground black or white pepper, divided
• ½ cup walnuts
• ½ cup feta cheese
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 bunch arugula, torn
• 1 can chick peas (garbanzo beans) (optional)
• pitted olives (optional)
• chopped sun dried tomatoes (optional). If using dry sun dried tomatoes, cook with pasta; if using sun dried tomatoes preserved in olive oil, reduce amount of olive oil in recipe.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F
2. Cut peeled beets into ½-1 inch cubes
3. Put 2 tablespoons olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a mixing bowl. Mix.
4. Add cubed beets to the mixture to coat them
5. Put beets on a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven until beets are tender, about 30 minutes
6. While beets are cooking, add balsamic vinegar, 1 more tablespoon olive oil, ¼ teaspoon more salt, and ¼ teaspoon more pepper to the same mixing bowl and mix to create a dressing.
7. Roast walnuts in toaster oven
8. Cook pasta. If adding sun-dried tomatoes, chop them up and cook them with the past. Drain pasta, add to dressing, and mix. If this is done promptly, the olive oil in the dressing will keep the pasta from sticking together
9. Once beets are tender, remove from oven and put in mixing bowl with pasta and dressing. Mix thoroughly.
10. Add walnuts and feta and, if using chickpeas and/or olives, add them now, and mix again.
11. Last, add arugula and mix again
12. Refrigerate until ready to serve.