DSC_0604When things get busy at work, we tend to order in lunch a lot. When you order food at work, it tends to be pretty intensely unhealthy… subs, pizza, taco bars, etc. And when you (or maybe it’s just me) have unlimited free unhealthy food, you tend to stuff yourself with an offensive amount. I had all of the aforementioned foods at work this week, so I felt obligated to make something uncharacteristically healthy for the Bachelor’s Test Kitchen.

On the bright side, this salad was very characteristically easy, although it does take a little while to make due to the roasted vegetables. But roasting vegetables is also easy – just pop them in, set a timer and forget about it. Once you do that, this salad is cake (food puns!).

For the dressing, I made a very healthy-sounding creamy vinaigrette with Greek yogurt, lemon juice and olive oil. Once you add goat cheese to the equation for a little richness, this salad is actually very satisfying. As a first course, this would be a great option for something easy, tasty and attractive.

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Ingredients

1 medium red beet

4 large carrots

1 handful baby arugula

1 tablespoon goat cheese

1 1/2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Process

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel carrots and cut them into 2 inch chunks. Trim beets by cutting off the pointy tips and the greens an inch or two above the bulb, then clean them by scrubbing them under running water. Wrap the beets in foil and dress the carrots with salt and a little bit of olive oil.
  2. Roast vegetables for about an hour, or until a sharp paring knife can be inserted into the center of the beet without any resistance (you can poke through the foil).
  3. While the vegetables are roasting, whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Add more of whichever ingredient suits your taste until your dressing is delicious.
  4. After an hour, or when the vegetables are tender, remove them from the oven. Let the vegetables cool and unwrap the beet from the foil. When the beet is cool enough to handle, you’ll be able to pull off the skin in the sink easily ( be careful not get beet juice on your clothes or any important paperwork). Cut the beet concentrically into half-inch slices.
  5. To assemble the salad, lay down a bed of baby arugula and scatter the the roasted vegetables over it. Pinch off pieces of goat cheese and scatter that over the salad, then pour your dressing over everything. Enjoy the condescending tone you can take at work when you tell people you ate a salad for dinner last night.
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