This easy roasted beet side makes for an impressive dish. Honey and orange zest flavor the goat cheese that is smeared for the base of the salad. Don’t miss the mint, zest and pistachios for garnish.
Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese Spread
Serves 4-6
Roasted Beets
2 pounds medium size fresh beets
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
Salad
1 cup goat cheese
2 tablespoons orange zest ,divided, more for garnish
2 tablespoons orange juice ,divided
1 ½ teaspoon honey
½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, more leaves for garnish
Pistachio , 2 tablespoons, smashed for garnish
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Cut the greens from the tops of the beets, saving for another use, then trim the bottom of the stems, and discard. Scrub the beets under cold water, pat dry with a paper towel, and place in a bowl. Toss with the olive oil and generous amount of salt and pepper.Place the beets in a baking dish and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 1 hour for large beets, or about 45 min for medium. The beets will be done when you can easily slide a sharp knife into their tender centers. Set aside to cool enough to handle.To peel, trim the ends and use a paper towel in each hand to rub off the skins. If you don’t want your hands to get red, wear plastic gloves.
ALTERNATIVLEY: Boil beets in a large pot til tender. About 1 hour. The skins will easily come off.
Slice the beets into wedges, thick rounds, or half moons. If using two colors of beets, place the cut beets in separate mixing bowls. If using the same color, add to the same mixing bowl.
To make the honey goat cheese mixture, in a small mixing bowl stir together the goat cheese, 1 tablespoon of the orange zest, honey, and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Set aside.
Make the dressing in a small mixing bowl. Whisk together the orange juice, extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, freshly ground black pepper, and 1 tablespoon of the mint with ¾ teaspoon salt. Drizzle over the beets and toss, dividing the dressing if using two different colors beets.
Spread goat cheese on a platter. Plate the dressed beets. Top with orange zest, salt, pistachios and mint.op with dollops of the honey ricotta and the remaining mint and orange zest.
