Beet Salad With Herbed Goat Cheese and Greens

Although it’s autumn and I now gravitate more towards soups, I do still enjoy a hearty salad. In Greece, they are blessed to have winter vegetables and greens (climate) and beets are very popular.

Here, I roast beets then poach in  sweet/sour combination of red wine and balsamic vinegars. The beets alone are very sweet and this step takes them 1 step towards savory.

I am also using goat cheese here but you could use any crumbly tart cheese you like…heck go Feta if you wish! As for salad greens, again use what’s seasonal and fresh but do use my favourite (and very popular) 3-citrus dressing for the greens.

Beet Salad With Herbed Goat Cheese and Greens

(serves 4)

4 medium to large sized beets

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Herbed goat cheese

1/2 log of cheese (4-5 oz.), softeneed

1 tsp. chopped fresh mint

1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives

fresh ground pepper

For the greens

1/2 recipe of my 3-citrus dressing

4 cups mixed greens (of your choice)

Garnish

toasted sliced almonds or walnuts

1. Pre-heat your oven to 400F and place the beets in a roasting pan just large hold hold them. Pour enough water to come up 1/4 way and place in the oven for 2 – 2 1/4 hours or until just fork-tender. Allow to cool completely before peeling the skins (I use the back of a knife).
2. After the beets are peeled, add the red wine and balsamic vinegar in a medium pot and bring up to a boil. Slice your beets into 1/4 inch slices and poach in the simmering vinegar mixture for a minute then remove with a spatula/spider and allow to cool (you can reuse the cooled vinegar for future dressings).
3. For the goat cheese, place softened cheese in a bowl and add herbs, chives, fresh ground pepper to taste and mix well. You can reform a cheese log in plastic wrap (twist the ends to tighten into a log) and place back in the fridge.
4. Prepare 3-citrus dressing as per instructions.
5. Place three slices of beets on each plate. Toss your greens in citrus dressing and place on top of beets. Take your goat cheese out of fridge and top each salad with  1/4 inch slice. Drizzle with more dressing and top with nuts. Serve with Thymiopoulos Boarding Pass Malagouzia.