Beet salads

My mother grows purple beets in her garden. They are absolutely delicious. She made these salad recipes really easy by having already cooked the beets when I showed up recently. They need only a simple preparation: steaming or roasting (here's a beet salad where I roasted them).

For these salads, I played on the classic beet-walnut-goat cheese trio. The first salad is simpler, pairing the trio with peppery arugula and sweet dried cranberries. For the second one,  I added two other treats from her garden: carrots and figs, plus some prosciutto. In both cases, the earthiness of the beets plays well with the other sweet, savory and bitter flavors.

Arugula and Beet Salad

1/3 cup walnut halves
1 cup cooked beets (about 3-4 beets, steamed or roasted and peeled)
3 cups baby arugula leaves
1/3 cup dried cranberries
2 oz. chèvre goat cheese, crumbled
2 or 3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. honey
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Heat a small frying pan over medium-low heat. Toast walnuts, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 8 minutes (watch to prevent burning). Set aside to cool then coarsely chop.

2. Cut beets into 1/2-inch cubes. Add to a large bowl, along with the arugula, dried cranberries, goat cheese and chopped walnuts.

3. Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, honey, salt, thyme and pepper. Pour over salad and toss to combine.

Beet, Fig and Prosciutto Salad

1 cup cooked beets (about 3-4 beets, steamed or roasted and peeled), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
8 fresh figs, quartered
1/4 cup walnut pieces
1 carrot, peeled and shaved or cut julienne
2 oz. chèvre goat cheese, crumbled
4 oz. prosciutto, cut into thin ribbons
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Combine beets, figs, walnuts, carrot, goat cheese and prosciutto in a large salad bowl. Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat. Serve in large shallow bowls.