Set roasted, jewel-toned beets and fresh figs over creamy, tart labneh and scatter with honeyed pecans for an autumn salad that's both fresh and comforting.

　　

Ingredients

4 servings

　　

Candied Pecans:

1/2 cup pecans

　　2 tablespoons honey

　　

Beets:

2 pounds small red beets

　　1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil

　　Maldon sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

　　Juice of 1 lemon

　　

For serving:

4 to 6 cups arugula

　　1 pint fresh Black Mission figs

　　1/2 cup Kefir Labneh

　　

For the candied pecans:

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 335°F. In a small ovenproof sauté pan, combine the pecans and honey and place in the oven. After 5 minutes, stir the pan to evenly coat the pecans with the now-melted honey. After another 5 minutes, stir again. After a final 5 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and empty the nuts out onto parchment paper, making sure to separate each nut so they don’t stick together once cool.

　　

For the beets:

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Slice the tops off the beets and wash the beets thoroughly. Toss the beets with enough olive oil to coat (about 1/2 cup) and a pinch each of sea salt and pepper. Place in a shallow roasting pan, add about 1/4 inch water to the pan, and cover with foil. Roast until a small knife easily pierces a beet, 45 to 60 minutes. When cool enough to handle, use your hands and a towel to slide the peels off under cold running water. Cut the beets into wedges and toss them with half of the lemon juice, a pinch of sea salt, and 1/2 cup olive oil. Set aside.

　　

To plate:

Step 3

In a bowl, toss the arugula with a pinch of sea salt and the remaining lemon juice and olive oil and divide among four plates. Add the figs to the bowl that had the arugula and toss with whatever dressing is still in the bowl (give them a good stir to coat). Arrange the figs atop the arugula. Add the beets and pecans to the plates in the same manner and garnish with small dollops of labneh.

　　From The Kefir Cookbook: An Ancient Healing Superfood for Modern Life, Recipes From My Family Table and Around the World © 2018 by Julie Smolyansky. Reprinted with permission from HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.Buy the full book from HarperCollins or from Amazon.