Beet and Potato Salad with Beet Greens and Blue Cheese

This is a combination of a couple of different recipes, with a nod to Martha Stewart, who has a similar recipe which uses the beet greens. I made this for Labor Day BBQ with our neighbors. The bright colors look great on a buffet!

Beet and Potato Salad with Beet Greens and Blue Cheese

• About 6 smallish/medium red/pink (not purple) beets, roasted, cooled, peeled and diced.
• About 6-8 medium Idaho gold potatoes (or other waxy potato). Boil with skins on, toss on some vinegar and oil to coat, cool. Peel and dice (you can skip the peeling if you like.)
• Sweet onion, 1 medium, chopped 
• Salad oil, about 1/2 cup
• White sweet vinegar, about 1/4-1/3 cup total. I used a combination of mostly white balsalmic and a little seasoned rice vinegar, which is really sweet.
• Salt and pepper
• Blue cheese, about 2-3 oz. I used an amish blue from Whole Foods, but any stinky cheese will do. I wouldn't use pre-crumbled crumbles.
• Beet greens, cooked as shown below recipe

Gently combine the cooled, diced beets, potatoes, and onion. Mix the oil and vinegar, adding salt and pepper to taste. Dress the salad with the oil and vinegar, stirring gently. You may need to add more or less, depending on how absorbent the potatoes are, your own preferences, size of the beets and potatoes you used, etc. You can also change the ratio to add more vinegar if you don't mind a stronger vinegar flavor.

Taste the salad and when it seems about right, put in a serving bowl. Garnish the top with dollops of the beet greens (be sparing - I used about half of what the greens from my 6 beets made) and then crumbles of the cheese. Chill until ready to serve.

Beet Greens

• olive oil, about 2 tablespoons
• 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, peeled, minced
• Beet greens from the beets, rinsed and trimmed and chopped into medium pieces. You'll only use about half of them, so don't worry if you have to discard a lot.
• Kosher salt (optional)

Heat olive oil on low/med in large skillet. Add garlic and cook until golden. Add greens and allow to cook down until completely wilted. If necessary, cover and stir occasionally. It will take about 5 minutes. Salt (optional) to taste. Allow to cool to room temperature.