Marinated Beet Salad (with Walnuts and Goat Cheese)

Marinated Beet Salad adapted from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters

I start here with the basic procedures for the Marinated Beet Salad from The Art of Simple Food (244), adding roasted walnuts, honeyed goat cheese (or add some honey to your dressing if using regular goat cheese), and orange zest.

Salad greens
1 pound beets (any kind, but pink is prettiest)
Salt
1 tsp vinegar (red wine, sherry, or white wine vinegar)
1-2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp orange zest, finely chopped
4 oz goat cheese (I used Laura Chenel Fresh Goat Cheese with Orange Blossom Honey)
1/4 cups chopped walnuts

Wash greens thoroughly, spin dry, lay on a dry dishcloth, wrap and store in fridge.

Wash beets thoroughly. put them in a baking dish with a little water (enough to cover the bottom of the dish to a depth of 1/8 inch) and sprinkle with salt. Cover tightly and bake the beets in a 350 degree oven until they can be easily pierced with a sharp knife, 30 minutes to one hour, depending on their size. (Mine took about 90 minutes, so you may want to do this ahead of time, though I like them in the salad still a little warm, also warm beets make it easier to mix in the goat cheese.

While you’re at it, it helps to take the goat cheese out of the fridge a couple hours before you plan to make the salad.

Uncover and cool your beets.

Meanwhile, heat a dry pan over medium high heat and add your walnuts. Toss in the pan until just starting to brown. DO NOT BURN. Set aside.

Cut off the tops and the roots of your beets and slip off the skins. Cut the into small wedges or 1/4” dice and sprinkle with vinegar, orange zest and more salt.

Let stand for a few minutes to allow the beets to absorb the flavor. Taste and add more salt or vinegar as needed. Toss with 1-2 tsp olive oil.

Stir the goat cheese into the beets. You can crumple it on top, but it looks pretty when it’s all pink and shit.

Dress your greens with a small amount of olive oil and a dash of vinegar. Top with beet and goat cheese mixture, followed by walnuts.

I served this with baby/creamer potatoes with a little butter, and simple pan-seared boneless pork chopped. The sweetness of the beets, heightened by the honey goat cheese and orange zest, were a nice accompaniment for pork. Very nice.

I usually roast my beets hotter and in foil, but this lower slower method worked well too. And the lightly salted water in the roasting dish was incredible to drink.

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Waters, Alice. The Art of Simple Food. New York, Clarkson Potter, 2007.