You haven’t lived until you tasted a sumptuous roasted beet and goat cheese salad. Roasted beets married with goat cheese and the addition of the simplest of ingredients, wow. Just wow.
Why roasted instead of boiled?
This method is less work than boiling and brings out a deeper, richer, and meatier beet for this beet and goat cheese salad. Yes, yes, yes… a boiled beet will taste absolutely delightful. But a roasted beet? A roasted beet makes this salad absolutely sumptuous!
Roasting beets are easy. Ridiculously so! Wrap them in aluminum foil and pack on a baking sheet with parchment paper and roast in the oven. The parchment paper will be your very best friend since the beet juices will manage to find their way out of those little silver blankets.
Why use goat cheese?
While roasting beets will bring out a savory depth of flavor, one of the delights of beets is that they are sweet! Sweet with a side of savory. Sumptuous savoriness.
Beets perform best in the background as they are not overpowering. Goat cheese? Well now, goat cheese is always going to demand the limelight! Something as strong and powerful as goat cheese needs a best-supporting actor. Enter, beets. Stage right.
How do you crumble goat cheese?
I am a big proponent of using goat cheese that comes in a brick. It’s usually less expensive than pre-packaged crumbled goat cheese and it is much creamier! Grab a spoon, scoop, and then spoon off liberally over the chopped beets. Now isn’t the time to be greedy, so go for it! Make it messy, I give you full permission.
What else goes with this beet salad?
This salad needs nothing else but simplicity. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. That’s all it needs.
Of course, you CAN get all fancy and add honey, pecans, walnuts, pistachios. All perfectly acceptable!
Top with your favorite lettuce leaf. I prefer arugula or spring mix greens with this salad. The arugula adds a nice pepper “bite” that I think complement the roasted beets and goat cheese.
At the end of the day, it’s all about learning new ways to improve flavor, presentation, or simply enjoying the food experience more. Right? I believe it is time for us to step it up when it comes to beets. The poor little fellas are often overlooked! And since beets are root vegetables, they last longer in our pantries. Scroll down for two other beet recipes that I have on the blog.
Oh, one more thing… if you were lucky enough to buy beets with stems and leaves, it’s a fun touch (and tasty) to garnish with thinly sliced leaves.
C’mon, it’s time to kick our beets up a notch. You in? This beet and goat cheese salad is a great start.
Happy sumptuous savoring!
Eat well, my friends.
Lyndi
Looking for more beet recipes?
I’ve got you covered!
Chat Noir Bistro’s beet and avocado salad. Get the recipe.
ABC Kitchen’s beet and yogurt salad. Get the recipe.
Sumptuous roasted beet and goat cheese salad
Ingredients
- 2 beetroots
- 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Scrub beets under running water. Wrap each with alumunium foil and place on baking sheet with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, or until you can easily slip a knifepoint in and out smoothly.
- Remove beets and let cool. Peel skins off. Chop in bite-size pieces and place on platter.
- Crumble goat cheese liberally oer the beets, drizzle with olive oil and vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.
- Option: Garnish with thinly sliced beet leaves. Serve and enjoy!
Yum! I used the beet greens once like a sauteed spinch…a little olive oil and thinly sliced garlic…and served with roasted beets.Recently went to a Bonefish Grill in Williamsburg, VA. and had a salad of fancy greens with pickled beets, goat cheese and candied walnuts (or was it pecans?) The combination worked very well!
See, it's good enough for us to make it ourselves!
I still have a handful of beet greens in the crisper… I think I will saute them up tonight. Thanks for sharing the tip, Matt!