Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with Sorghum Candied Bacon (Appalachian style)
With warm, glowing colors and a range of delicious flavors throughout, this Roasted Root Vegetable Salad is just a total knockout. Any color of beets works here, and the same goes for the carrots and radishes. The pop of punchy raw onion is perfect here, and it all comes together beautifully thanks to the simplest sweet oil and vinegar dressing. If you can’t find sorghum syrup, feel free to swap in honey or maple syrup.
- Yield: Serves 2 to 4 1x
- Category: Appalachian
Ingredients
- 2 bunches fresh beets, trimmed (or about 8 to 10 beets, any color)
- 2 bunches fresh radishes, trimmed and halved
- 3 large carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- Olive oil, for coating
- 6 slices bacon
- 1/4 cup sorghum syrup (maple syrup is a great sub)
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- Sea salt, as needed
- 1/2 small red onion, sliced into rings
For the Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Scant tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1–2 teaspoons sorghum syrup
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Adjust a rack to the top third position in the oven, and adjust one in the center.
- Wrap the beets up in foil, creating a little packet and ensuring they’re completely covered. Roast them on the center rack until they’re totally fork tender, about 1 hour.
- Put the radishes on one side of a large sheet pan and the carrots on the other side. Drizzle with olive oil to coat and season with salt and pepper. Roast on the center rack until tender and lightly caramelized, about 22 to 25 minutes. If the radishes are done first, go ahead and remove them if you like.
- Cover a second large sheet pan with foil or parchment paper and lay the bacon slices on the pan in an even layer. Brush/coat each slice with sorghum syrup, from end to end, and then season them with lots (I mean, lots) of freshly cracked pepper.
- Lay a piece of foil loosely over the pan (prevents too much browning) and roast the bacon on the highest rack for 8 minutes. Remove the foil and let the bacon finish cooking, keeping an eye out for over-browning (the foil really helps with this, as does putting the pan on a lower rack, if needed).
- Allow your beets to cool until easily handled, and pull or slice the skins off. Cut the beets into quarters or bite-sized pieces.
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Arrange the beets, carrots, and radishes on a large plate or platter and scatter the sliced red onion over top. Break off or cut the candied bacon into pieces and tuck them in all over the salad.
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Make the dressing by whisking together the four listed ingredients and adjusting things to taste. Drizzle this all over the salad and season with a little salt over top, if you like. Enjoy!
Notes
Feel free to swap in honey, brown sugar, or maple syrup for the sorghum here.