Beet and Apple Salad with Horseradish Vinaigrette

Seeing all the beautiful beets and apples at the farmer's market last weekend, inspired me to dig out this fantastic recipe.

Beet and Apple Salad with Horseradish Vinaigrette

For visual appeal, a mandolin is useful for preparing this recipe. Hand mandolins can be found at kitchen supply stores at an economical price. Alternatively, larger and more durable mandolins can be found at a higher price point, while offering a wider array of sizes and shapes of cuts.

For vinaigrette
1 tbsp brown mustard
2 tbsp prepared horseradish
¼ cup raspberry vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

For Salad
1 pound beets, mixed red and golden if available
¼ cup green onion, minced
1 tbsp chives, minced
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 apples, sweet or tart, julienne
½ cup celery, sliced ¼ in
3 cups mixture of endive, romaine and radicchio (or sub with mixture of farmer’s market greens with mixture of colors)

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine all vinaigrette ingredients, except olive oil, in bowl and whisk rapidly (or use food processor or mixer) . Slowly add the oil until emulsified. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Leaving the roots and 1 inch of stem on beets, rinse thoroughly. Bake with ¼ in water, covered, 25-40 minutes or until beets can be easily peeled with a knife. Cool. When beets are cool enough to handle peel and julienne. Toss the beets with 2 tbsp vinaigrette and half green onions. Combine chives, parsley, and apples with the celery and remaining green onions. Toss with 2 tbsp vinaigrette. Dress greens/leaves with vinaigrette. Place leaves on chilled plate. Place a serving of beets on top of the greens, add celery, apples scattered on top. Serve chilled.