Halloween Recipe:Beet, Tart Plum and Ginger Salad

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Beet, Tart Plum and Ginger Salad
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:
4 large red or yellow beets (about 3 pounds), scrubbed and trimmed
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar, or more to taste
1 tablespoon grated (preferably on a Microplane) peeled ginger
½ teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste
2 red or yellow plums (the same color as the beets), pitted and sliced into wedges (about 2 cups)
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Cook's notes: To prevent your hands from getting stained with beet juice, use a fork in one hand to hold the beets, and slice with the other hand. Also, have on hand a sheet of parchment paper to line the cutting board and transfer cut beets.
Preliminaries: Heat oven to 400 degrees. (Or boil them in their jackets until tender in lightly salted water.)
Roast beets: Put the scrubbed beets in the center of a large piece of foil on a baking sheet, drizzle on a tablespoon of water and wrap them in the foil, forming a tight package. Roast the beets until a paring knife can be inserted into a beet through the foil without any resistance, 1 to 1 ½ hours (start checking after 45 minutes). Remove the beets from the oven and let them cool slightly. Unwrap.
Skin and chop beets: When beets are just cool enough to handle, use a paper towel to rub off their skins. Trim stem and root ends. Transfer beets to a cutting board covered with a piece of parchment paper (to prevent it from staining) and cut them into wedges that are the same size as the plums.
Dress beets: Whisk together oil, vinegar, ginger and salt in a large bowl. Using parchment paper to help you, transfer the warm beets to the bowl and toss gently to coat. Season with more vinegar or salt, if needed.
Serve: Transfer beets to a platter and scatter the plums and scallions on top. Give the salad one final sprinkle of salt and serve immediately. (Refrigeration will steal flavor from the salad, and if it stands too long, plums will get soggy.)