My mom came back from Greece this winter raving about a roasted beet salad she had had there. She has since managed to recreate the recipe and explained to me the few easy steps involved in this dish over the phone a couple of days ago.

I made the salad that day and I ate it again yesterday, and were there any left in the fridge – I'd eat it again today!

Beets are available and in good condition pretty much year round and so although you may not think of root vegetables as spring and summer eating, this salad is the perfect accompaniment to a backyard BBQ.

Oh, and by the way, if you think you don't like beets – you're wrong. You do like beets; you just haven't had them prepared correctly. Forget terrible memories of cafeteria style canned no-texture beets and make up some of your own - I guarantee you'll be a convert!

Roasting the Beets

This recipe calls for roasted beets, but you can use roasted beets in many hundreds of ways – they are in fact wonderful simply dressed with a vinaigrette as a salad in themselves.

Ingredients

• Beets
• Foil
• Salt
  

1. Sprinkle each beet with a little salt and cover each beet individually in tinfoil and roast in a pre heated 425 degree oven for 45 minutes or so (less time for smaller ones and more time for bigger than average ones). Check the beets for doneness by inserting a fork into each beet – if it slides in relatively easily, they're done. If it's too firm to slide a fork in, it needs a bit longer in the oven.
2. Let the beets cool and then simply rub the skin off with your fingers (Wear gloves if you don't like pink hands).

Greek Style Roasted Beet Salad

• 4 Roasted beets
• ¼ cup vinaigrette
• 6 Tbls yogurt
• 2 Tbls fresh dill
• Salt

1. Make up a simple vinaigrette dressing or use one that you like, keep it a little bit heavy on the acidity (Equal parts vinegar and oil). My mom suggested 2 Tbls extra virgin olive oil, 2 Tbls cider vinegar and a pinch of salt and sugar.
2. Dice the beets into bite sized chunks and pour into a bowl with the vinaigrette, tossing to coat the beets completely.
3. Let the beets marinate in the vinaigrette for a couple of hours and then drain off the liquid (reserving a little bit of it)
4. Add in about ½ cup of yogurt (full fat Greek style yogurt is great here) and the chopped fresh dill and drizzle in a little of the reserved vinaigrette to taste.
5. Taste again for seasoning and add salt if needed.

That's it – serve as a side salad for a great summer meal – perfect for a BBQ!