Golden or ruby beets work well in this summer salad. Roast the beets up to four days before serving, and combine with the other ingredients up to two hours before it goes to the table.
Had golden beets when I was in Portland a couple years ago, and I finally found a source for them in my area (at Whole Foods). This was fantastic and gourmet-like in its presentation, huge hit. Served with grilled lemon oregano chicken breasts, mango salsa couscous, and chocolate mousse for dessert.
This was fabulous! After roasting but before skinning, I cooled the beets in a bowl of ice water (they were taking forever to cool); plus sauted the red onion. Everyone loved this dish. As an experiment I also tried this with canned beets - DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME! There is a world of difference in taste - stick to the real deal.
I used a mix of golden and purple beets. The purple bled all over the golden and turned them a sort of flourescent orange - quite entertaining! Great suggestion on caramelizing the onions. This is my favorite beet recipe of the five or six I've tried so far (other than beet soup, that is).
