For anyone who has only had canned beets, fresh beets are a revelation. This salad was a big hit last week. It’s very simple, in fact, only has 4 ingredients!
Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Salad
6 Fresh Beets (roasted)
4-6 oz Goat Cheese
Fresh Basil
Vinaigrette (your favorite recipe or bottled brand)
Cut off the stems and the root ends from the beets and wash with cool water. (Tip: working with beets is less messy if you wear latex or vinyl gloves) No need to peel the beets yet. There is a cool trick I’ll tell you about in a sec.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
Wrap the beets in foil and place on a sheet tray. Roast in the oven for 45-minutes to an hour. Test with the tip of the knife. If it slides in with only just a bit of resistance, that’s done!
Unwrap the foil and allow the beets to cool for about 10 minutes. Here’s the peeling trick: Put back on your latex gloves and simply rub the skin off each beet with a paper towel! Tada!
This salad can be served warm or cold. I prefer to serve cold, it’s really refreshing. But, if you’re the warm beet type, after peeling the roasted beets slice them into wedges, dress with 1/2 cup of your vinaigrette. Place on a serving plate/bowl and top with the crumbled goat cheese and chopped basil.
If you’d like to try the cold version, chill the beets in the fridge before you assemble the salad.
Kathleen Rear 