Roasted Beet Salad with Toasted Pistachios and Caramelized Onions

My dad came over for dinner yesterday to see the new house, so I threw together a simple one-dish meal using beets from the Passyunk Square Farmer's Market and other random ingredients from the pantry. Being out of blogging-mode, I didn't think to take photos, but imagine magenta half-moons and flecks of white goat cheese amidst green romaine lettuce leaves and you're pretty close to seeing the finished product.

Roasted Beet Salad with Toasted Pistachios and Caramelized Onions

Salad
Bunch of fresh beets
1/4 onion, thinly sliced
Handful of shelled pistachios
Head of romaine lettuce
Goat cheese

Vinaigrette
Balsamic vinegar
Honey
Dijon Mustard
Almond oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut off leafy green tops of beets, leaving a short stem. Wrap beets in foil and roast in oven till tender, about one hour.

Meanwhile, caramelize the onions in butter with a teaspoon of sugar on low heat. (If onions are already sweet onions, e.g., vidalia, you don't need the extra sugar.). Caramelizing takes about 30 minutes. Let onions cool.

Toast the pistachios for about 5 minutes. Chop coarsely once cool.

Wash the lettuce leaves and prepare the vinaigrette (see previous posts for more specific vinaigrette directions).

Once beets are ready, let them cool for a few minutes before peeling off their skins. Slice into half-moons and let them reach room-temperature.

Once all ingredients are cool, dress the salad. Mix in the beets, onions and pistachios. Drop in small plops of goat cheese and lightly toss. Serve with bread. (I picked up a loaf of Pain au Levain from Metropolitan Bakery, a rustic sourdough).