Chef notes

When you’re a food blogger, you are especially aware of produce seasonality. You know it’s fall when your Twitter feed is full of pumpkin everything—lattes, cookies, pancakes, smoothies, granola, you name it. One day, I signed on to learn that blood oranges were in season and I had almost missed out on them! I rushed to the grocery store, picked up a few, and headed back to the kitchen to make a recipe before my small window of relevancy closed. I was happy I did—when you roast an orange, it somehow transforms into a velvety, luxurious, and sweetened version of itself. This recipe also works well with spiralized Golden Beets and Butternut Squash.

Note: You can always buy kale chips instead of roasting your own, but if you have the time, make them fresh and save the leftovers for snacking.

Ingredients

For the vinaigrette

¼ large lemon, juiced
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon water

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
¼ cup orange juice
1 teaspoon whole-grain or country-style Dijon mustard

For the salad

2 medium beets, peeled, spiralized
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Cooking spray

1 large blood orange, peeled and quartered or cut into eighths
2 cups roughly chopped kale leaves (stems removed)
½ cup walnuts
Raw honey

Preparation

1. Make the vinaigrette. Whisk the ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate.

2. Prepare the salad. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the beet noodles on a baking sheet and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 15 minutes.

3. Lightly coat a separate baking sheet with cooking spray and place the orange pieces on one side and the kale on the other. Lightly coat the kale with the cooking spray and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, then transfer the kale to a platter.

4. Add the walnuts where the kale was. Drizzle lightly with honey and toss carefully with tongs. Return the baking sheet to the oven for 5 minutes more or until the nuts are lightly toasted.

5. Divide the roasted beet noodles among serving plates and top with the orange pieces, walnuts, and kale. Drizzle the vinaigrette over and serve.

Reprinted from Inspiralized: Turn Vegetables into Healthy, Creative, Satisfying Meals. Copyright © 2015 by Ali Maffucci. Photos by Evan Sung. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.