This salad is a celebration of summer! Pasta, blueberries, roasted beets and greens with a fresh blueberry dressing.
Ingredients
For the Salad:
1-1 1/2poundsgolden beets, greens removed
olive oil, salt and pepper freshly ground, for the beets while roasting
3/4poundbowtie pasta
1tablespoonolive oil
2tablespoonswhite balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar
1/2lbspinach, or spring mix or mixed greens (approximately 12-16 cups of greens)
1cupchopped celery or jicama
2pintsblueberries washed, drained well and divided for dressing and salad
1/2lbfresh mozzerella cut into cubes
1cupgrated or shaved parmesan
For the Dressing:
1cupfresh blueberries
1/3cupolive oil, avocado oil or canola oil
2tablespoonswhite balsamic or white wine vinegar
3tablespoonshoney to taste
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Wash golden beets thoroughly and slice in half lengthwise. Place flat side down on cookie sheet. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with ground pepper and sea salt. Roast 20-25 minutes at 400 in convection oven (or 425 regular bake oven for 20-25 minutes) until a knife can be inserted in the beet easily. When cooled, peel outer skin with a knife and discard. Cut beets into bite sized chunks.
Blend dressing ingredients using an immersion blender or stand blender while beets and pasta are cooking. Refirgerate until ready to serve.
While beets are roasting, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook bowtie pasta according to package directions until cooked al dente. Drain and place in a bowl. Toss pasta with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar and a good dose of ground pepper and salt. Let cool completely.
Toss cooled pasta with greens.
Toss pasta and greens with celery (or jicama), remaining blueberries, and beets. Gently fold in cheeses. I always save some of the ingredients for topping the salad for best presentation. Chill until ready to serve.
Just before serving, drizzle salad with a little dressing, and serve the rest on the side. See recipe notes.
Notes
Do not toss the salad with the dressing. The blueberry dressing is very dark in color and will discolor the pasta and cheese. I drizzle a portion of the dressing on top of the prepared salad, and serve the rest on the side.