Roasted Beet, Avocado, and Watercress Salad

Along with our "vegetarian" week, I made this salad last night. For me, beets take a little getting used to. I like to eat them more because I feel like I'm treating my body good while my taste buds come second. But, this salad was really good. I think the oranges toned down the beets for me and the dressing was great with not too much sugar. I haven't bought watercress before, but I think I'll do that again too.

The salad looked beautiful when I put it on our plates. I used a combination of both red and yellow beets (I roasted them in separate pans so the red beets wouldn't stain the yellow). The toasted pecans gave a nice crunch to the mouthful of flavor as well.

Not sure if this would be a filling enough meal (which I think it was), this salad preceded a further meal of roasted chicken and red potatoes tossed in garlic and olive oil. I liked the salad best though!

(adapted from Cooking Light)

• 6  large red or yellow beets (about 4 1/2 pounds)
• 1/4  cup  water
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  finely grated orange rind
• 1/3  cup  fresh orange juice
• 3  tablespoons  extravirgin olive oil
• 2 1/4  tablespoons  sherry vinegar
• 3/4  teaspoon  sugar
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1  large avocado, peeled
• 3  bunches watercress (about 9 cups trimmed)
• 3  cups  orange sections (about 3 large navel oranges)
• 3/4  cup  vertically sliced red onion
• 3  tablespoons  chopped pecans, toasted 

Preheat oven to 375°.

Remove root and 1 inch stem on beets; scrub with a brush. Cut beets in half; place beets in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Add water. Cover with foil, and bake at 375° for 45 miniutes to 1 hour or until tender. Cool; rub off skins. Cut beets into 1/2-inch slices.

Combine rind and next 6 ingredients (through pepper) in a small bowl. Toss half of juice mixture with beets.
Cut avocado in half lengthwise. Slice each half into 12 slices. Place watercress on a platter; top with beets, orange sections, onion, and avocado. Drizzle remaining juice mixture over salad, and top with pecans. Serve immediately.