Winter Salad with Roasted Beets and Citrus

This gorgeous salad has all the holiday flavors and makes a wonderful vegetarian main or festive starter course. We used clementines for our version, but use whatever oranges are the best and in season. This recipe makes 2 salads.

PREP TIME: 15 minutes
COOK TIME: 1 hours 0 minutes

Ingredients
For the honey vinaigrette:
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the roasted beets:
2 large beets, stem ends removed and scrubbed well
Olive oil, for drizzling
Salt, for seasoning

Remaining ingredients:
6 ounces watercress
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1-2 oranges (depending on the size), peeled and sectioned
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (you can also use feta for this recipe)
1/2 cup walnut halves
1/4 cup pomegranate arils (optional)

Directions
Make the vinaigrette: Add all dressing ingredients to a non-reactive jar. Cover and shake vigorously to combine. Set aside until ready to use.

Roast the beets: Preheat your oven to 400 F. Place each beet on a piece of foil; drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Fold the foil up tightly around the beets. Place the foil packets on a baking sheet and roast for 45-60 minutes (depending on the size and freshness of the beets). Remove the beets from the oven and set aside to cool. Once cool enough to handle, unwrap the beets, and peel the skins off with your hands then slice.

To assemble the salads, arrange the watercress on two serving dishes. Add the onions, beet slices, orange segments, cheese, walnuts and pomegranate arils, if using. Drizzle with vinaigrette and serve immediately.