Layered Holiday Salads
Serves: approximately 12
 
Ingredients
  • 6 baby red beets
  • 1½ cups water, divided
  • 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
  • 1½ teaspoons salt, divided
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 medium butternut squash
  • ¾ cup tri-color quinoa
  • 1 large grapefruit
  • 2 medium oranges
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
  • 3 cups chopped, stemmed Russian kale
  • ¼ cup chopped toasted walnuts
  • ¼ cup pomegranate arils
  • Garnish: fresh mint
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400°.
  2. Using a sharp knife, trim and discard greens and roots from beets. Place beets in an 8-inch square baking dish. Add ¼ cup water, vinegar, 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper, tossing to coat beets. Cover baking dish with foil.
  3. Roast beets until a paring knife can be inserted into beets without resistance, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool completely. Peel and dice beets into ½-inch cubes.
  4. Peel and dice squash into ½-inch cubes. In a large bowl, toss together squash, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Place in a single layer on a small rimmed baking sheet.
  5. Roast squash until slightly tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely.
  6. In a medium saucepan, cook quinoa in remaining 1¼ cups water according to package instructions. Let cool completely.
  7. Using a sharp knife, peel and segment grapefruit and oranges, reserving ¼ cup juice. Chop grapefruit and orange segments into thirds.
  8. In a medium bowl, whisk together reserved ¼ cup citrus juice, mint, and remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil until emulsified. Add kale, tossing to coat.
  9. In 12 (6-ounce) trifle glasses, layer beets, kale, quinoa, grapefruit, orange, and squash. Top with walnuts and pomegranate arils. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until needed, up to 3 hours. Serve cold or at room temperature.
  10. Garnish with mint, if desired.
Notes
Beets, squash, and quinoa can be cooked up to 2 days in advance. Let cool completely, place individual airtight containers, and refrigerate until needed. Because layers may bleed into others, we recommend assembling and serving salads within 3 hours.
Recipe by TeaTime Magazine at https://teatimemagazine.com/layered-holiday-salads-recipe/