SERVES:
4-6

INGREDIENTS:

4-6 medium large beets (or 8-10 smaller beets)
1/3 cup water

approx. 2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
approx. 2-3 Tbs tarragon vinegar (see hints below)
salt and pepper to taste

approx. 1 - 1 1/2 cups toasted walnuts
4-6 clementines, peeled and segmented
approx. 4-6 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
black pepper to taste

lettuce as needed (optional)

PROCEDURE:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Place the beets into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish, add a little splash of water to that, and then cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it into the oven.

Depending on the size of the beets they could take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour or more to roast and you can easily insert a knife into the center when they are done.

Cool the roasted beets down completely. You could even cool them down in the fridge, and then peel the skins off and thinly slice them into bite size pieces.

To dress the beets, add equal parts extra virgin olive oil and tarragon vinegar, season with salt and pepper to taste and toss to coat.

Give that a taste. You might want to add a little more vinegar, and then divide it up onto individual plates, on top of lettuce leaves if you like, and finish with clementine segments, toasted walnuts and some crumbled goat cheese.

HINTS:

This recipe uses a mixture of extra virgin olive oil and a store bought tarragon vinegar to dress the beets but you could substitute regular white vinegar and add some fresh chopped tarragon or a little dried tarragon to that. Or leave the tarragon out completely.

Smaller beets will roast faster than bigger ones but you can cut larger beets in half before roasting.

To toast the walnuts, add 1 - 2 tsp vegetable oil to a heavy bottomed saute pan on medium heat. Add walnuts and stir and toast for 2 - 4 minutes, season with salt to taste and take out of pan to cool.