Roasted Beet Salad with Cucumbers

I come from a family of beet eaters. I remember very well being served canned beets at just about every holiday meal at my grandparent’s house. The beet-loving gene must have missed me completely though. I like the idea of beets–they’re beautiful and fun to grow in the garden and nutritious and all that. However, I’ve tried for years to like beets, and I just haven’t found a recipe that makes me ask for seconds.

However, just as I’ve passed on other bad habits to my kiddos, it seems that I also taught them to dislike beets. They’ve been able to avoid beets for several years, because I just never buy or serve them. But this summer I stumbled into a small CSA share and for the past few weeks, we’ve been getting beets. Which means we’ve been trying out beet recipes. This has my kiddos, and even my Sweetie Pie husband, turning up their noses at the table.

This was the first beet recipe that I served that was moderately accepted. Roasting the beets brings out the sugars and makes them sweet and tender. And everyone liked the simple and delicious dressing.

If you’re in my grandpa’s camp and enjoy beets, you’re going to love this salad. If, like me, you tolerate them when they show up in your CSA box, I recommend this to you as a beet dish your family will accept with minimal complaint. And anyway, doesn’t it look gorgeous?? It’s almost like Christmas in July.