• 2 pounds red and golden beets
• 1/2 cup shelled walnuts
• 2 blood oranges
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• Zest of 1/2 orange
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 pound Belgian endive

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Trim and wash the beets and roast them, tightly covered, with a splash of water. While the oven is on, put the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for about 5 minutes. With a sharp paring knife, trim off the top and bottom of each orange. Pare off the rest of the peel, making sure to remove all of the pith. Slice the oranges into 1/4-inch rounds.

2. Make a vinaigrette by mixing together the vinegar, orange juice, and the zest, finely chopped, and stirring in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel them and slice into rounds. Toss them gently with the vinaigrette and arrange the beets on a plate with the orange slices and Belgian endive leaves. Drizzle over any vinaigrette remaining in the bowl, and garnish with the toasted walnuts.

From Chez Panisse Vegetables, by Alice Waters. New York: HarperCollins, 1996.