Roasted Beets and Crab Salad

Ingredients

1/2 pound fresh beets
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
1 pound crab meat, picked over for cartilage
1/4 cup homemade or store bought mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish or to taste
1/2 cup of one day pickled red onions
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

Instructions

Cut the tops and bottoms off the beets. Place the beets in a small roasting pan and fill the pan with water coming 1/3 of the way up the pan. Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Place the pan in the oven and roast for about 30 to 35 minutes or until the beets are tender. Cool slightly, about 20 minutes, and rub off the skin. Using a mandoline, thinly slice the beets Reserve 1/4 cup of the beet liquid. In a mixing bowl, whisk the olive oil and rice wine vinegar together. Season with salt and pepper. Toss the beets with vinaigrette, cover and chill for 6 hours. In a mixing bowl, toss the crab meat, mayonnaise, sour cream, shallots and horseradish together. Season the salad with salt and pepper. To assemble, divide the beet slices into fourths. Cover the center of each plate with the beet slices. Mound the crab salad over the beet slices on each plate. Place a fourth of pickles on top of each mound of crab salad. Drizzle the reserved beet water around the edge of each plate. Garnish with parsley.

Yield: 4 servings