Salad with Warm Beets

Beets are at their beety best June to October, and you know what that means: they are getting ready to come into season!!! I love beets but I have a beet confession to make.... I didn't try them until last year. *Gasp!* I know. But ever since then beets and I are tight.

I would love to take full credit for the yummy salad you are about to behold, but I can't. I gotta give the credit where it's due, and that goes to my mother in law, Chris. She brought a salad like this to our house and people devoured it! It was sooooo good. Now mine is a little bit different, but I want to discuss the dressing, which is jalapeño jelly.

I know it sounds a little bit funny, but it is delish! I urge you to try it, no I implore you to! It adds a lot of dimension to the salad, as well as being a great way to use up that extra jalapeño jelly that you canned last year (am I alone in this dilemma?)

Take a beet ..... and beet it. Just kidding. Just slice it. 

And a note on the beet: I used a huge beet for my salad because I wanted it extra beety. This is totally your call. Use whatever size beet you want. There are not, to my knowledge, beet police lurching in your cabinets. 

Cut it up into manageable slices so that they will steam easily and a little more quickly. 

Meet my steamer--that metal thingy. It comes in all kinds of handy and if you haven't got one, I am lead to believe that you don't steam things. BAD! Steaming? GOOD! Get a steamer. They are cheap and they sell them in most grocery stores and they are very reasonably priced. 

To use the steamer, you put water in the bottom of a pan (not enough to come up through the steamer, though) and you put your steamer in the pot. Put the heat on medium high, cover and steam away. SO EASY! 

While your beets are steaming, wash your lettuce, cut it up and place it on some fancy plates. Fancy plates always make food taste better, obviously. 

Add nuts and crumbly cheese. I used almonds and ricotta salata, but you can use any nut and crumbly cheese your little heart desires. Be creative! 

Observe: left over jalapeño jelly. 

When your beets are steamed up, cut them smaller (if desired) and top your salad with them! 

Then pour on your jalapeño jelly and drizzle with a touch of olive oil. 

YUM! The perfect salad for beets in my opinion! 

Salad with Warm Beets 

Time: 20 minutes | Serves 2 | Difficulty: Easy 

You Will Need:

1 beet, peeled and washed 

Crumbly cheese (goat cheese, feta cheese, or ricotta salata) 

1 head of artisan lettuce (or any lettuce) 

Nuts, I like almonds... that, and, it's what I had 

Jalapeño jelly 

Drizzle of olive oil 

Method:

Cut up your beet into nice even-ish pieces. Place them in a steamer and put the steamer in a pot with water in the bottom. 

Turn your heat on medium high, cover your pot, and steam the beets until they are fork tender, about 15-20 minutes. 

While beets are steaming, wash and slice your head of lettuce. Divide it between two fancy plates. 

On top of your lettuce put a healthy dose of your cheese and nuts. 

When your beets are tender, cut them to your desired "bite" size. Place them atop your salad while still warm. 

Top with jalapeño jelly and a drizzle of olive oil. 

Enjoy!