Autumn salad with roasted beets, carrots, feta and roasted garlic balsamic vinaigrette

Wear gloves to keep the beets from staining. Peel the beets, rinse and pat dry, halve, and slice into wedges.

Put the beets on a big baking tray with a handful or two of baby carrots, or regular carrots peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and toss.

Cut the tips off two heads of garlic, set them on foil, drizzle with a lot of olive oil and a hefty pinch of salt, close the package and put it at the side of the pan.

Bake on the center rack of a 400F oven about 45 minutes, until the beets are tender and the garlic is caramelized; open the garlic package for the last 15 minutes to color it.

Let cool to room temperature.

Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves into a little pitcher or bowl, add plenty of balsamic, then olive oil, and whisk; thin with more vinegar, tasting as you go.

Toss the clean arugula in a big bowl with a tablespoon or two of the dressing and a little pinch of salt, adding more vinegar or olive oil if too thick; transfer to a serving platter.

Toss the roasted beets and carrots in the remaining dressing with a little more vinegar and a pinch of dried oregano; spread over the greens.

Crumble feta over the salad; roughly chop roasted salted pistachios and sprinkle over the top.

Variation: toasted pine nuts, pecans or almonds in place of the pistachios, or no nuts.