Cara Cara Beet Salad -- The Garden Wakes Up, and So Does the Table

The kitchen is in full spring mode. The oven at 375 (always 375), the crockpot on the counter, the pantry stocked with jars from last August's canning — the evidence of a woman who preserves summer against winter and loss against forgetting and food against everything.

I made Irish soda bread this week — the spring version, the one that fills the kitchen with the smell that means this time of year, this stage of life, this specific Tuesday when the stove is warm and the family is fed and the feeding is the point. Kevin ate seconds. The man always eats seconds. The eating is the approval and the approval is the marriage.

The garden is waking up. The garlic that overwintered is pushing green shoots through the soil, the annual proof that buried things come back. Jack's seedlings are hardening off in the greenhouse. The Marlene cherry tomato — generation 4 now — ready for transplanting. Every spring the planting is the memorial. Every spring the name goes back in the ground.

With the garden waking up and the whole house smelling like soda bread and possibility, it felt right to put something equally alive on the table —something that honored the colors coming back into the yard. This Cara Cara beet salad has that same quality the overwintering garlic does: earthy and rooted, but brilliant when it finally shows itself. It’s the kind of salad that feels like a small ceremony, which is exactly what a Tuesday in spring deserves.

Cara Cara Beet Salad

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 3 medium beets, scrubbed and trimmed
• 2 Cara Cara oranges, peeled and sliced into rounds
• 5 oz baby arugula or mixed spring greens
• 1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
• 1/4 cup candied pecans or toasted walnuts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (for roasting)
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• For the dressing: 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon honey, 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Roast the beets. Preheat oven to 400°F. Wrap each beet individually in foil with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Place on a baking sheet and roast 40–45 minutes, until a knife slides in easily. Let cool, then peel and slice into wedges or rounds.
2. Make the dressing. Whisk together olive oil, white wine vinegar, honey, and Dijon mustard in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust as needed.
3. Segment the oranges. Peel the Cara Cara oranges and slice into thin rounds or peel away pith and cut into segments. Their pink flesh will be beautiful against the beets.
4. Assemble the salad. Arrange greens on a large platter or in a wide bowl. Top with beet wedges and orange slices, distributing evenly.
5. Finish and serve. Scatter goat cheese and pecans over the top. Drizzle dressing across the salad just before serving. Finish with a crack of black pepper.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 285 | Protein: 6g | Fat: 19g | Carbs: 24g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 210mg