Roasted Beet Summer Salad

This summer, I've been looking for easy recipes that can be tossed together with minimal effort but maximal flavor. I've just come across a great solution — beets.

In my cookbook KewlBites, I feature a winter-inspired salad with golden beets and feta cheese, amongst other ingredients, but there's no reason why, if you can come across a batch of delicious golden or crimson red beets this summer, you can't transform them into the foundation of a delicious and refreshing side dish or even a lunch-style entrée.

My new recipe consists of the following ingredients:

• Roasted red or golden beets* (wrap them tightly in foil, bake them on a baking sheet at 425 degrees F for about an hour or so, and then allow them to cool before slicing off the top and bottom stems and easily peeling off the skin) ... About six large beets

• Fresh plums, chopped or diced into large chunks ... About 1.5 cups

• Fresh cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (heirloom multi-colored tomatoes, if possible)... About 1.5 cups

• Pistachios, coarsely chopped ... About 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup

• Goat cheese, crumbled (about a handful) ... About 1/3 to 1/2 of a cup

• Your favorite herb... In this case, I love to use fresh mint... About 1/3 of a cup

• A light lemon vinaigrette (two parts oil, one part freshly squeeze lemon juice, and a dash of salt and pepper) ... Start with about 1/3 cup oil and 3 tablespoons lemon juice, and scale proportions upward from there as desired

*If you can find both colors of beets, I heartily recommend using some of the golden ones as well. They break up the mix with a burst of color and add an interest level that's impossible to discount.

This recipe works really wel​​l as a portable go-to fix, ideal if you're heading to an outdoor picnic in the park or just looking for something fast and simple to serve with chicken, fish, or any other protein. It's delicious!

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