Serves 6 to 8
People eat with their eyes first, they say, and I love to serve food that is as beautiful as it is delicious. This salad is a good example of that. A feast for the eyes and the mouth.
Salad
2 medium red beets
1 medium golden beet
2 pink grapefruits
1 navel orange
1 small fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced on a mandoline, fronds reserved for garnish
5 ounces mixed baby greens
1 small Chioggia beet, thinly sliced on a mandoline (optional)
Citrus Shallot Dressing
½ cup grapeseed oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons minced shallot
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2 Roast the beets: Wash the red and golden beets well, then wrap each beet individually in foil. Place the foil-wrapped beets on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a fork. Remove the beets from the oven and cool completely before unwrapping. Once the beets have cooled, open the foil packets and pull off the skin (it should slide right off). Slice the beets ¼ inch thick.
3 Cut off the ends of the grapefruits and oranges to expose the flesh and slice off the peel following the curve of the citrus from top to bottom. Slice crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices.
4 On a large platter, layer the beets, citrus, and fennel with the baby greens. Garnish with the raw chioggia beet slices and fennel fronds.
5 To make the dressing: In the bowl of a food