Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese & Toasted Pecans
Roasted beets, creamy chèvre, toasted pecans, and a Cranberry-Pear White Balsamic and Extra Virgin Olive Oil vinaigrette. This salad has a lot going on, and every element adds to its delicious flavor. The beets get sweet and tender in the oven, the goat cheese adds a tangy creaminess, pecans bring the crunch, and the vinaigrette ties it all together with a bright, fruity acidity. It makes a great side dish or add grilled chicken and call it a meal.
Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese & Toasted Pecans
Fresh beets are roasted until tender, then marinated in a quick Cranberry-Pear White Balsamic and Extra Virgin Olive Oil mixture before being served over dressed arugula or mixed greens with crumbled chèvre and toasted pecans.
Exercise care when peeling the beets. Without gloves they'll temporarily dye your hands a festive shade of purple.
Trim the greens and root-end from the beets and discard. Wrap the beets in a foil packet, drizzled with a tablespoon of water. Roast the beets in their packet for 1 hour, or until vegetables are tender when pierced through with a sharp knife. Remove packet from oven and allow to cool. Once the cooked beets are cool enough to handle, peel them by rubbing the skin off between paper towels.
Warning: This will dye your hands a festive shade of bright purply-red.
Cut the cooled, peeled beets into 1″ chunks and toss with 2 Tbsp of Cranberry-Pear White Balsamic Vinegar, whisked together with 2 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, and set aside.
In another bowl, whisk together the remaining Cranberry-Pear White Balsamic Vinegar with the grainy mustard until the two are well combined. Slowly drizzle in your olive oil of choice, continuing to whisk continuously until the dressing is thickened or emulsified. Add freshly-ground black pepper and sea salt to taste.
Arrange the salad greens in a bowl or on a platter, and dress with the Cranberry-Pear White Balsamic vinaigrette. Distribute the marinated roasted beets on top of the salad greens, and top with the crumbled fresh goat cheese and toasted pecans.
