Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

By Booper-2

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound beets, ends trimmed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 4 ounces goat cheese
• 4 cups baby greens
• 4 cups baby spinach
• Tarragon dressing, recipe follows
• 4 very thin slices red onion, separated
• (Tarragon Dressing)
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons dried tarragon
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Details

Servings 6
Preparation time 90mins
Cooking time 170mins
Adapted from foodnetwork.com

Preparation

Step 1

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Wash and dry the beets and trim off the ends. Take a large sheet of aluminum foil, 12 by18, and double it over. Put the beets in the middle, drizzle with olive oil and season with the salt and pepper. Bring the sides of the foil up around the beets to make a pouch. Put in the hot oven and bake until the beets are tender, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. When cool enough to handle, gently peel off the skin and slice into julienne pieces, about 2 inches long by 1/2-inch thick. Chill until ready to use.

Lightly toast the pine nuts in a small saute pan over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove to a plate or small bowl and cool. Slice the goat cheese into 1/2-inch rounds and press the pine nuts onto both sides. Chill until service.

When ready to serve, lightly toss the baby greens and the spinach together in a large bowl and dress the edge of your serving bowl with 1/4 cup of the tarragon dressing. Toss the greens and then top with the beets and the goat cheese rounds. Drizzle with additional dressing and serve immediately.
Tarragon Dressing:

In a small bowl or glass jar, combine all the ingredients, except the olive oil. Whisk until well h well combined, then slowly drizzle in the olive oil. This recipe works really well with a stick blender.

The dressing makes it incredible. I normally use fried goat cheese for my salads and took it to new heights this time. I browned the pine nuts and put them in the food processor and added to the bread crumbs with fresh thyme. Sliced the beets on top of the salad and topped each slice with warm fried goat cheese. What a keeper any season of the year.