How was your long Memorial Day weekend? Do you feel rejuvenated, ready for a healthy, but most importantly, FUN summer?
Now that we’ve all whipped out our grills and our white pants, let’s start adding summer fruits to our salads.
Today? Peaches. Tomorrow? Cantaloupe.
I experimented with roasting oranges over the winter with these beet noodles and I couldn’t believe how velvety they became. So, I tried my luck roasting peaches, since I thought it might be a little too early for grilled peaches (give it until mid June.)
Velvety again! The natural sugars in the peach really come forward. Plus, these white peaches don’t have a fuzzy skin, so they are more palatable.
The peaches look gorgeous next to the bright bet noodles and their soft, smooth consistency melt perfectly with every bite. The walnuts give the dish a healthy crunch and of course, the gorgonzola ties it altogether. I’ve really become okay with gorgonzola cheese – the Italian blue.
Also, I’m all about not reinventing the wheel. When I first started out, I had a few recipes that I didn’t feel totally comfortable with but were “cool.” I’m over that. I know what tastes good and I’m going to bring you more of that. Like this dish – walnuts are predictable here, but they are what go best!
Truth be told, this recipe wasn’t premeditated. I found the peaches at the grocery store over the weekend and had a beet from a FreshDirect order a week prior that I had to use.
I reached into the fridge for an apple and had to move the peaches to a shelf next to the beets. When I went to put back the peaches, I saw the beet next to them. Lightbulb!
And this dressing. The dressing! I want to slather it all over everything. Why don’t I use mint more? It smells of mojitos and the Caribbean!
The white balsamic is perfect here – it’s not as sweet as regular balsamic, so the dressing doesn’t steal the show from the sweet peaches. The mint, honey and slight bit of lime juice cling to the beet noodles and give their roasted flavor and sweet and tangy boost.
I call this dish a salad, because, well, it’s not a pasta. There’s no sauce – there’s a dressing! It stands by itself, but feel free to serve it next to a light fish or go crazy and throw some sliced flank steak on top.
Whatever you choose, you’re going to love this recipe. I loved it so much, I’m using the same dressing in tomorrow’s cantaloupe-themed salad: so make a double batch and save it in the fridge!
Do you like fruit in your salads?
Nutritional information and recipe
Roasted Peaches & Beet Noodles with Gorgonzola, Walnuts and Honey-Mint White Balsamic
Ingredients
- 2 medium beets 350g each, peeled, Blade C
- 1 cup small-chopped white peaches
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
- For the dressing:
- 1 tbsp chopped mint
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp water
- 2 tsp honey
- 2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp lime juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Coat a baking tray with cooking spray and spread out your beet noodles. Season with salt and pepper.
- In another baking tray, place down a piece of parchment paper, coat with cooking spray and then lay out your peaches.
- Place the tray with the beets and tray with the peaches in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.
- While the peaches are baking, place all of the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl and whisk. Set aside in the refrigerator.
- When the noodles and peaches are done, mix together in a bowl with the walnuts. Divide the mixture into two bowls, top evenly with the gorgonzola cheese and drizzle evenly with the dressing.
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