Roasted beet and lentil salad with walnuts

Ingredients

0 of 14 out on the counter

• 6 beets (2 inches across), scrubbed and trimmed
• 1 tbsp olive oil, for roasting the beets
• ¼ cup water, in the roasting dish
• ¾ cup dry brown lentils, rinsed
• 2 cups water, for cooking the lentils
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• 5 cups arugula (about 2 oz)
• 2 oranges, peeled and cut in sections
• 3 tbsp olive oil, for the dressing
• 3 tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp salt

All set! Everything is out. Time to bake.

Method

1. 1Heat the oven to 375 °F. Put the whole beets in a baking dish with the ¼ cup water, rub them with the roasting oil, and cover the dish tight with a lid or a double layer of foil.
2. 2Roast 50 to 60 minutes, until a knife slides into the middle of the biggest beet with no push. Oven heat is the same at 5,300 ft, so the oven time does not change.
3. 3While they roast, put the lentils in a pot with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer, partly covered, 25 to 30 minutes. At 5,300 ft water boils near 203 °F, so simmering takes about a quarter longer than the 20 minutes on a sea-level bag. They are done when a lentil is tender but still holds its shape. Drain well and let them cool.
4. 4Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, shaking the pan, until they smell nutty. Tip them out onto a plate so they stop cooking.
5. 5Whisk the dressing oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic powder, pepper and salt in a small bowl until it looks creamy.
6. 6When the beets are cool enough to hold, rub off the skins with a paper towel. Cut each beet into wedges.
7. 7Toss the lentils with half the dressing. Pile the arugula on a platter, then the lentils, the beets and the orange sections. Spoon on the rest of the dressing and scatter the walnuts over the top.
8. 8Serves 4. For leftovers, keep the beets, the lentils and the dressing in separate containers in the fridge up to 4 days; add the greens, oranges and walnuts when you eat. Cool the cooked beets and lentils within 2 hours before they go in the fridge.