If you are looking for something other than the usual garden salad, you might like my wife's recipe for Beet & Goat Cheese Salad with A Citrus Vinaigrette.
I love this salad and think it makes a perfect addition to the Thanksgiving table. It combines the sweetness of roasted beets with the bright freshness of citrus. And what really nice is that you can choose whatever citrus flavor you like best such as lemon, grapefruit or orange.
The salad is served at room temperature and can be prepared on individual serving plates in advance of the meal.
Ingredients (serves 4-6):
- 4 medium to large sized beets
- 4 ounces of goat cheese but feel free to adjust to your taste
- 6 ounces of extra virgin olive oil or grape-seed oil
- 2 ounces of fresh citrus juice of your choosing (lemon, grapefruit, orange etc.)
- Zest from citrus
- 1/2 teaspoon of fresh chopped thyme (optional)
Preperation
- Wash, but do not peel your beets.
- Wrap in foil and place the beets into a pre-heated oven (375 degrees Fahrenheit/190 degrees Celsius)
- Roast for about an hour. The cooking time will vary based on the size of the beets so test for tenderness with a fork.
- Remove from the oven and let cool
- Remove the skin of the beets by rubbing them in your hands. The skin should peel off easily.
- You now have the option to make either a composed salad or a diced salad. The composed salad is one where you alternate thin sliced of beet and goat cheese on serving plates. It's a more elegant presentation, but also more work. If you want a less formal, but faster and easier salad, go with the diced version of this recipe.
- For a composed salad, cut the beets into slices. For the diced salad, dice into 1/2 inch cubes. Place beets into a mixing bow.
- Make the vinaigrette by mixing the oil and citrus juice together in a second bowl with a whisk.
- Pour about 1/2 of the vinaigrette over the beets. If you like the taste of thyme, add the chopped thyme and toss everything together with your hands.
- If you are making the composed salad, cut the goat cheese into thin slices and interleave the cheese and beets on individual serving plates. For the diced salad, place the beets onto serving plates and crumble goat cheese on top.
- Sprinke some of the citrus zest on top of each plate.
- Allow friends and family to add additional vinaigrette to taste.
By the way, Crapaudine beets, are a very interesting and ancient variety, would be perfect for this salad but you can use any type of sweet beet you like.
Have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.
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