Red Leaf Salad with Roasted Beets,
Oranges, and Walnuts

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Photography by Sarah Shatz

    BY TERESA PARKER | SERVES 4 TO 6

A&M: Teresa wrote: “Seems to me beets and oranges are a classic winter salad combination that you see everywhere.” But this is no run-of-the-mill beet and orange salad. Teresa explained, “My friend Sophie’s dad, Jim Broderick, gave me the idea that really makes this salad great: fennel and orange rind in the dressing.” She’s right: this trick gives her winter salad lift and fragrance and makes you want to keep eating it.

    2 medium beets, trimmed and scrubbed

    Olive oil

    ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning

    1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

    1 head red leaf lettuce, rinsed, dried, and torn into pieces

    2 navel oranges

    1 tablespoon minced shallot

    ½ teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed in a mortar and pestle

    2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

    ¼ cup walnut oil

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Lay the beets on one half of a large piece of aluminum foil. Sprinkle with olive oil and season with salt. Fold the foil in half to make a packet and roll the edges to seal. Lay on a baking sheet and roast until tender, 45 to 60 minutes. Let cool. Peel the beets and slice into ½-inch-thick wedges.
  2. Keep the oven at 350°F; toast the walnuts on a baking sheet for a few minutes, 5 to 7, until they smell good. Remove the nuts and let them cool while you wash and dry the lettuce and tear it into a salad bowl.
  3. Zest one orange—you need 1 teaspoon grated zest. Using a very sharp knife, cut the ends from the oranges, slicing just deep enough to expose the flesh. Cut off the remaining peel and pith. Then, working over a bowl, remove the segments, cutting between the membrane. Place the segments in a strainer to drain off excess juice.
  4. Whisk together the dressing ingredients—the shallot, fennel seeds, and lemon juice—in a small bowl, adding the oil last, whisking as you pour it in so the dressing emulsifies a bit. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
  5. Toss the nuts, beets, oranges, and the dressing with the salad, adjust the seasoning, and serve immediately.

    TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

    Teresa: “The oranges and beets are best tossed in at the last minute, when you dress the salad to serve it, lest the o-juice and beety color run amok.”

    ABOUT THE COOK

    Teresa Parker is an expert on Catalonia and its cuisine, and runs culinary tours in Spain. She’s a good friend of Merrill’s and splits her time between New York City and Wellfleet, Massachusetts.