roasted beet and fennel salad with citrus vinaigrette
Are you a fennel lover?
Don’t answer that. I worked on a farm crew last season with a LOT of fennel haters. I was usually left to harvest fennel by myself because some of the crew hated it that much. I usually didn’t mind.
But here is the deal. Farm fresh fennel is the bomb. If you pair it with farm fresh beets you have yourself an amazing night ahead of you. Especially if your husband pours you a beer while you get cooking!
If you are still skeptical this is the recipe for you. This is like a beginners guide to loving fennel. Roasting it really brings out a nice sweetness that you would not get if you ate it raw. And hey, if things go well for you this time, you may even try a stab at raw fennel in a salad (which just so happens to be amazing!)
I paired the roasted beets and fennel with a lovely citrus vinaigrette. The result was nothing short of amazing. Taylor who usually doesn’t consider a quinoa salad with veggies a complete meal was totally happy and satisfied by this little number. Grab a fork and dig in.
Roasted Beet and Fennel Salad With Citrus Vinaigrette
Prep Time: 10 mins. Cook Time: 30 mins. Serves: 2
- 2 medium-sized fennel bulbs, trimmed and sliced into 1 inch pieces (save the trimmings for another use)
- 2-3 large beets, cut into 1 inch cubes, save the beet greens and chop them up as well.
- 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 TBS olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- For the Citrus Vinaigrette:
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp dijon style mustard
- 2 TBS lemon juice
- 2TBS lime juice
- 1 1/2 TBS fresh orange juice
- fine sea salt
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing. Taste test and set aside.
- In a large bowl combine the chopped fennel and beets together. Drizzle with olive oil salt and pepper. Place on a prepared baking sheet and roast in the oven until beets are fork tender and fennel is browned on both sides. About 20 minutes. Toss veggies once halfway through cooking time.
- Cook quinoa according to your specific brands instructions. Once quinoa has about 2 minutes left of cooking place chopped beet greens in with the quinoa so they steam up a bit.
- Combine roasted veggies with quinoa and beet greens. Drizzle with dressing and enjoy. This tastes great warm, at room temperature, or even chilled.
Notes
Use this recipe as a guide. Adjust ingredients and measurements as needed. Always taste test as you go!
haha! In California, everyone loves fennel. We practically fought over it on the student farm at UCD!
I roast it for my Mom with Parmesan 🙂
Wow, that fennel bulb you’re holding is huuuuuuge!! This salad looks amazing! I’m definitely down for fennel and don’t cook with it nearly enough, so this recipe is inspiration to hop to it!
Fennel haters exist?! They just haven’t had good fennel. I just had the most amazing caramelized fennel, so fabulous.
I love that you put it with beets.
That’s so funny! As soon as I saw the title with fennel my nose wrinkled! I’m not a fan.
I’ll take your word that farm fresh fennel roasted is better. Love the beet recipes, keep ’em coming! 😉
I adore fennel! So, thank you, thank you, thank you for making this! Btw…love your farm belt!
I tried raw fennel for the first time in recent memory last weekend, when it was served as a dipper with hummus. I liked it so much more than expected! I’m sure it is amazing roasted and paired with beets. Your meals look beautiful and fresh as always!
I’ve actually never tried fennel, but I can’t stand fennel seeds. And I think that’s why I’ve been afraid to try fennel! I feel like I WANT to like it though. 🙂