I ended up making this salad with mixed baby greens rather than just spinach. And, as I often do with homemade salad dressings, I reduced the oil and increased the acidic component. Other than that, I stuck to the recipe. It takes a while to roast the beets, but is very straightforward other than that. I thought it would be a pain to section the oranges, but it wasn't too bad. Just make sure you have a nice, sharp knife.

Spinach Salad with Oranges and Roasted Beets

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 250g beets
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 navel or blood oranges
• 185g baby spinach

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
2. Wash the beets and trim off the greens.
3. Wrap in foil and roast at 190°C (375°F) until fork tender (45-60 minutes).
4. Meanwhile, add the shallot, salt, and pepper to the lemon juice and let stand for at least 30 minutes.
5. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking vigorously.
6. Once tender, remove beets from oven and let stand until cool enough to handle.
7. While beets are cooling, secton the oranges: trim off both ends and then cut around the sides of the orange, following the contours, to remove the peel and pith; next cut along the membrane on both sides of each section to produce tidy, membrane-less wedges of citrus.
8. Once the beets have cooled, peel them and cut into wedges to match the size of the orange sections.
9. Place the spinach in a salad bowl and add the oranges and beets.
10. Toss with the dressing and serve.