Roasted beet salad with goat cheese
Roasted beet salad with goat cheese, arugula and toasted walnuts in a balsamic shallot dressing. The beets roast in foil, so the skins slip off, with 6 g of fiber a serving.
- 300
- kcal
- 9g
- protein
- 21g
- fat
- 22g
- carbs
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 1 h
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb (680 g) red or golden beets, about 5 medium, greens trimmed
- 1/3 cup (35 g) walnut halves
- 1 small shallot, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 tbsp balsamic or sherry vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp honey
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 oz (140 g) baby arugula or mixed greens
- 3 oz (85 g) soft goat cheese, crumbled
- Salt and black pepper
Method
-
1
Roast the beets
Heat the oven to 400°F. Wrap the beets in foil, in one packet or two, and roast on a sheet pan for 45 to 60 minutes, until a knife slides into the largest one easily.
-
2
Peel and cut
Leave them until cool enough to handle, then rub the skins off with a paper towel. Cut into wedges and toss with a pinch of salt and 1 tsp of the vinegar.
-
3
Toast the walnuts
Toast the walnuts on a small tray in the oven for 6 to 8 minutes, until fragrant, then chop roughly.
-
4
Make the dressing
Stir the shallot into the rest of the vinegar and leave 5 minutes. Whisk in the mustard, honey and oil, and season with salt and pepper.
-
5
Assemble
Toss the arugula with half the dressing and spread it on a platter. Top with the beets, goat cheese and walnuts, and spoon the rest of the dressing over the beets.
Roasting beets in foil
Wrapped in foil, beets steam in their own moisture as they roast. They cook evenly, they taste sweeter and more concentrated than boiled beets, and the skins slip off with a paper towel once they are cool enough to handle. There is no need to peel them raw. Roast beets of a similar size together, or take the smaller ones out early. They are done when a knife goes into the center of the largest one with no resistance.
Red beets stain everything: hands, cutting boards and the goat cheese. Wear gloves to peel them, cut them on a plate or a piece of parchment, and add the goat cheese last so it stays white. Golden beets taste almost the same, a little milder, and do not stain. A mix of both looks good on a platter.
For a shortcut, vacuum-packed cooked beets from the produce section work. They are softer and less sweet than freshly roasted ones, so give them a few extra minutes in the vinegar.
Season the beets while they are warm
Tossing the warm beet wedges with salt and a little vinegar, before the rest of the salad goes together, seasons them all the way through. Beets that only meet the dressing at the end taste sweet on the outside and flat in the middle.
Variations
- With feta: use crumbled feta in place of the goat cheese for a saltier salad.
- With citrus: add segments of 2 oranges, and use the orange juice in place of half the vinegar.
- Vegan: leave out the goat cheese and honey, and add a can of drained lentils or chickpeas for protein.
- Eastern European style: grate the cooked beets, and mix them with chopped prunes, walnuts, a clove of garlic and a few spoonfuls of mayonnaise or sour cream. It is a classic Ukrainian and Russian side for winter holidays. If you have beets left over, make borscht.
Keeping it
Roasted, peeled beets keep 5 days in the fridge, so roast a big batch at once. Dress the arugula only just before serving: once dressed, it wilts within an hour.
What it is worth nutritionally
A serving has about 300 kcal, with 9 g of protein, 21 g of fat and 22 g of carbohydrate, including about 6 g of fiber. Most of the fat is from the olive oil, walnuts and goat cheese; walnuts are also one of the few plant sources of omega-3 fat. Beets are a good source of folate and potassium. They are also high in nitrate, which studies of beet juice link to modestly lower blood pressure. After a large serving of beets, urine may turn pink or red. That is harmless and common. The salad is vegetarian and gluten-free; for a strictly vegetarian version, choose a goat cheese made with microbial or vegetable rennet.
