Recipe: Spring Salad with blood orange vinaigrette

The equinox was last weekend and we're getting into the spring vibes! As we start to move around more let's make sure we keep our energy right with healthy foods. We're sharing the salad featured on our March menu which features beets, a root vegetable packed with vitamins we need. Make it and share it with us.

As always, you can make our recipes regular or infused, for the latter, make sure you have our cooking essentials and measuring spoons on deck! 

INGREDIENTS: 

• 3 baby red beets (roots and stems removed)
• 3 baby yellow beets (roots and stems removed)
• 2 blood oranges (cut into segments)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
• 1.2 cup goat cheese (crumbled)
• Raw pepitas (hulled)
• 8 cups spring mix (or greens of your choice)
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard 
• 1 teaspoon honey 
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt + more to taste
• 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil (CFH EVOO for infused)
• 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves 
• 1/4 cup small fresh mint leaves
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh chives 

Servings: 6-8

ALWAYS READ STEPS ALL THE WAY THROUGH BEFORE STARTING!

STEPS:

Preheat oven to 375°. Separate (don't mix cause red will bleed and discolor yellow) and wrap beets loosely in foil. Place both packages in a baking pan; roast at 375° for 45 minutes or until just tender. Cool completely. Peel beets, and cut into quarters; set aside. When 

Peel and segment oranges over a bowl; squeeze membranes to extract juice. Set sections aside; reserve 2 tablespoons juice. Discard membranes.

Combine blood orange juice, lemon juice, mustard, honey, and salt in a small bowl. Slowly pour in olive oil (put infused oil first to ensure accurate dosing), stirring constantly with a whisk to make a dressing. Place half of dressing  in a small bowl, set aside.

Place remaining dressing in a large bowl. Add spring mix and herbs to bowl; toss well to coat. Place about 1 cup spring mix on each plate. 

in bowl with dressing, add yellow beets; toss well to coat. Divide yellow beets evenly among 6 small plates. Add red beets to bowl; toss well to coat. Divide red beets and orange sections among the plates. Place about 1 tablespoon cheese mixture on each serving, sprinkle 1 teaspoon pepitas and salt to taste. Now you're ready to serve up a bomb and healthy salad!