Beet and Feta Salad

Ever since the success of introducing beet root into Adrian's diet, I have been wanting to cook with more beet roots. As Dan said, beet root is a very versatile ingredients. He was generous enough to share with me some of his killer beet recipes back in his Bed Supper Club-day. They are really tempting, and equally intimidating. I'm going to stick to baby-step and experiment the home-style before I venture to the pro-style.

It's such a pain to cook beet - it takes such a long time to get it cooked! In my case, 40 minutes. What did I do as I wait? I whipped up an Apple Crisp.

The maple syrup-candied walnut was a good touch; it added some crunch to the salad. Its sweetness is a good compliment to the saltiness of feta. The orange zest, too, added a not overly whelming citrusy taste. On last thought, I threw in some sprouts (broccoli, alfalfa and pea) for variety.

Ingredients:

• beets, washed, trimmed and cut in half
• 1/3 cup of walnuts, chopped
  
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• salad greens of your choice
• 1/2 cup of orange juice, or one orange
• orange zest, grated
  
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• feta cheese, crumbled

1. Cover cut beets with water and boil until tender. About 40 minutes.
   
2. At the mean time, mix orange juice, balsamic vinegar and olive oil in a medium bowl.
   
3. Lightly toast walnuts in a frying pan for a few minutes. Add maple syrup and stir to coat.
   
4. When beets are done, let cool under running water. The skin will slide off easily at this point. Chop into bite-sized chunks.
5. Place salad greens to individual plate. Toss all ingredients together, spoon on salad green to serve.