Edible Jewels

For all of you out there that hate beets, you have to at least admit they are very pretty...especially all of the different varieties they come in golden, deep red, pink...when diced up, they often remind me of jewels.  This is why I thought they would be perfect in a salad with pomegranates which look like little sparkling rubies!  The subtle sweet earthy beets with the tart sweet pomegranates is a match made in heaven!  I made myself such a salad tonight, because I felt like eating some edible art, something I could enjoy looking at as well as enjoyed eating.  After all, it is now winter and it can get rather blah outside...so why not make other things beautiful! 

I had some red and golden roasted beets on hand (to roast, simply wrap in foil, and place in a 475 degree oven.  Roast until a knife inserted into the beet goes in easily about 45 minutes for medium beets, or up to an hour and 15 minutes for large.  Let cool and peel beets.) So I combined them with pomegranate seeds, and some sweet oranges, tossed them in a citrus maple vinaigrette and sprinkled them with pistachios.  It was a sight to behold, sparkling jewels on my plate, and the bright green of the pistachios playing off the gold and red in the rest of the salad.  But more importantly it was a sweet tart bright blend of flavors perfect to wake up my taste buds from all of the heavy comfort food of winter.  This would be wonderful as a starter for a holiday meal!  If you are in need of something beautiful to eat as well as tasty, here is the recipe!

Serves 3

Dressing: