Salad with Beets and Goat Cheese

Ingredients

Beets are the star in this fall salad. Although they are available all winter fall is when I think of beet recipes.

• Beets - Yes, peeling beets is going to make your cutting board and your hands red. It doesn't last and it's worth it.

• Soft salad greens - Avoid bitter winter greens for this salad.

• Goat cheese & pine nuts - A delicious combination and an opportunity to try some variations , toasted (or pumpkin seeds)

• Shallot, balsamic vinegar & olive oil - A simple salad dressing that lets the ingredients shine.

See recipe card for exact amounts.

Instructions: How To Roast Beets

To roast beets I follow the same instructions for my recipe for Roasted Root Vegetables. It can take an hour to roast a whole tray of vegetables so I always recommend roasting twice as many as you think you need to enjoy in other ways for the week ahead.

• Wear an apron or use rubber gloves if you're concerned about getting beet juice on your hands or clothes. Don't wear white for this task.
• To avoid the beet colour taking over a whole baking sheet of roasted vegetables wrap several whole beets in foil and roast them beside the other vegetables.
• Once they're cooked, cool until they can be handled. Peel the skin off using a knife and your fingers.

Substitutions & Variations

Goat cheese - Try blue cheese, camembert, brie or your favourite soft cheese.

Pine nuts - These are expensive but a nice treat. Pumpkin seeds are my favouirte substitute but walnuts are excellent too.

Shallots - I seldom buy shallots and substitute what onions I have on hand. White and red onions are more mild than yellow cooking onions so they are my first choice to substitute for shallots.

Homemade Vinaigrette Dressing

Gluten free cooks read labels. Once you see what is in store bought salad dressing you might just shift to homemade dressings. I can make a simple vinaigrette dressing in less than two minutes from the selection of oils and vinegars in my pantry.

Every salad dressing recipe can be double or tripled and kept in your fridge for weeks. The Shallot Vinaigrette in this recipe is enough for the salad with a little leftover to put in a container for my lunch the next day.

Storage

Roasted beets can be stored in an airtight container and kept in the fridge for about a week. Toss them in salads or heat and serve, with steamed beet greens if you had some to cut off the top.

Best Tools for Homemade Salads

Every cook needs some basic tools for salad making. Here are some to consider:

• An awesome knife, I love my 10-inch Chef’s knife.
• A sturdy extra large cutting board.
• An immersion blender to fully emulsify oil and vinegar in some recipes. A whisk to make a quick dressing in a small bowl like I do with this recipe.
• Both salad dressing bottles and 1-cup Mason jars for storing homemade salad dressing.
• A gorgeous wooden salad bowl or a simple white or clear glass platter will be used over and over year round.