By Whitney Donohue

Moapa Valley Progress

Photo by Whitney Donohue

As the cool weather approaches, the winter root vegetables are starting to make an appearance at the store, at the farm, and in my Bountiful Baskets. One of my favorites is beets – which I think for many people is a love it or leave it type of vegetable. I kind of have a sweet tooth, though, so it is definitely a “love it” vegetable for me.

My husband on the other hand is more of a “leave it” type of fellow, which means I have to get creative and focus on a more savory type of application.

I stumbled onto that with this salad – which has the sweetness of the beets that I love, but adds the feta and pomegranate which cuts some of that sweetness.

Beet Salad

3 medium to large red beets

1 medium red onion, diced

¼ cup white wine vinegar

¼ cup vegetable broth

1 tbsp sugar

Zest from 1 orange

Seeds from 1 large pomegranate

1 head of butter lettuce, torn into

bite sized pieces

4 – 6 oz feta cheese

Roast or boil your beets until tender. The skins should slip right off. Cut the beets into a 3/4-inch dice. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, sauté the beets, onion, vinegar, broth, sugar, and orange peel. Cook until liquid is reduced to about 1-2 tablespoons. Remove from heat and stir in the pomegranate arils and half of the feta cheese. Let this mixture cool a little, then mix it into the butter lettuce. When plating, crumble the remaining feta over the top of the salad. Enjoy! Serves 4-6 (depending on the size of your beets!