Roasted Squash & Beet Salad

This is yet another winner from the Primal Cravings cookbook.  Like every self respecting Russian or Ukrainian, I love beets.  And I get amused every time a cashier fishes out a bunch of beets from my shopping cart, turns it around a few times, then waves it in the air and asks me:  "What this?!"  I always honestly respond:  "Beets."  The rest of the checkout process usually continues in silence.  Sometimes, a particularly curious cashier will ask me what my intentions are toward that bunch.  Sometimes, a cashier will try to count each beet separately and charge me triple amount (they are actually sold as a unit, three-in-one).   I bought these beets from the Sprouts market and was pleasantly surprised that the cashier knew her veggies, no questions asked.

The book suggests using canned beets for this recipe to avoid getting your hands colored in bright red, but I don't mind the color, or the extra work of roasting and chopping my own beets.   I do, however, mind the BPA and other nasty things in the liners of the cans, which potentially leach into the food they contain.  

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash

2   15-ounce cans whole beets

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for roasting the squash

3  tbsp orange juice

1 tbsp fresh tarragon, minced (I skipped it)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1.   Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with a silicone pat or parchment paper.

2.   Peel and cut the butternut squash, making sure you remove all the seeds from the bulbous part of the squash.  Cut the squash into small cubes, about 1-inch squares (I cut mine a bit smaller)

3.   Place the squash on a baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil and salt.  Toss to coat.  Roast until soft, about 15 to 20 minutes.

4.  In serving bowl, whisk together olive oil, orange juice, tarragon, and some salt and pepper.

5.  Cut the beets into quarters and place into serving dish.

6.  Once the squash is soft, place in a serving bowl.  Toss everything to combine.

Organic beets and butternut squash from Sprouts.

Wash each beet and cut the stems off; place each one on a sheet of foil (large enough to wrap the beet); drizzle some olive oil on each beet.

Wrap them up and place them in a cooking dish (they may leak some juice during roasting) and roast.

Cut up the squash, sprinkle with salt, drizzle with olive oil, and roast.

Don't forget the orange juice.  Mixed with the olive oil from the roasting process, it creates an incredible dressing.  This salad is even better the next day.