“So what do you do in the winter?” is a question I hear at least once a month. The answer can be long, but it is simple. Since we can’t grow food, we focus on growing leaders and community. We reflect and plan. We cook and have community events. We eat the food we preserved from the year. We dream of summer.
A couple weeks ago our Project LEAD focused their summer dreams on our lunch menu. Each neighborhood’s Project LEAD are developing a menu that all 250 of our youth will eat one day this summer. In Lyndale, we prepare for this day by trying different recipes with produce that will be available on our day. One night, we focused on beet salads.
Here is the recipe for the Roasted Beet and Apple Salad we chose:
- 6 beets
- 1 Tablespoon fresh Rosemary, or 1/2 Tablespoon dried
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 large green apple, cut into matchsticks
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 1/2 Tablespoon pistachios or pecans, chopped
Dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon Apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Wash and trim beets, leaving them whole. Toss with olive oil, rosemary, salt, & pepper. Transfer to baking dish and roast for about 90 minutes.
- Remove beets from oven and let cool. Once cool enough to handle, peel the skin from the beets and cut into 1/2 inch wedges. Toss into a large bowl.
- Cut the apples into small matchstick size and toss in with the beets. Add spinach too.
- Whisk together dressing ingredients. Pour into bowl and toss to combine. Toss in chopped nuts.