Serves 4
Active Time: 30-40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
When beets are in season, we love to roast beautiful golden-yellow beets and toss them with herbed croutons in a salad that nods to the Italian bread salad, panzanella, made from juicy tomatoes, cubed bread, and basil. We lean on the earthy flavors of the beets and thyme for this fall interpretation
Ingredients
Roasted Beets
1½ pounds yellow beets
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Herbed Croutons
4 ounces ciabatta or other bread
2½ tablespoons canola oil or another neutral oil
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon dried marjoram
Serving
⅓ cup Simple Feast’s Lemon Dressing
1 tablespoon thyme leaves, preferably lemon thyme
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400˚F.
Trim the stems of the beets down to about ¼ inch and scrub the beets well. Toss the beets with the olive oil and salt. Put in a baking dish and roast in the oven until tender when pierced with a knife, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Time can vary considerably depending on the size and freshness of the beets. Remove from the oven. Once cool enough to handle, peel the beets and cut into bite-sized pieces. Put in a medium bowl. Lower the oven temperature to 375˚F.
While the beets roast, cut the bread into cubes. Blend the canola oil, olive oil, and marjoram and toss with the cubed bread.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread out the bread. Toast in the oven, shaking occasionally, until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
Add the toasted bread cubes to the beets. Drizzle with enough Lemon Dressing to coat. Sprinkle with the thyme.
Serve family-style or divide among plates.