Roasted Beet Salad Recipe with Goat Cheese and Nectarines

Recipe by Erin Eastland
Photos by Amy Sheridan

Somewhere along the line, people got the wrong idea about beets. Maybe it was when The Office provided them with their own Battlestar Gallactica boasting, fascist regime supporting mascot -we don’t really know. What we do know is that Schrute Farms is about get a whole lot of business when people find out about this Roasted Beet Salad Recipe with Goat Cheese and Nectarines.

Directions
Roast golden and red beets separately so that they keep their color.

Roasting the beets

1. Trim the beets and wash skins well.
2. Place washed beets into a medium baking dish and cover with water ¾ the way up the beets.
3. Sprinkle with salt and olive oil and cover tightly with aluminum foil.
4. Roast for 35-45 minutes, or until a paring knife can easily be inserted into the middle of the biggest beet.
5. If you are using different colored beets you will need to repeat this roasting set-up for each color so they do not stain each other.
6. Once they are cooled, remove the red beets from the liquid, strain it through a fine mesh strainer and cool in the fridge.
7. Use an old kitchen towel (keep in mind these are beets and it will stain!!) to remove the skins from the beets by rubbing lightly. The skins should come right off.
8. Quarter the beets and set aside.

Making the vinaigrette

1. Add raspberries and vinegar to blender and blend well (we like this Huilerie Beaujolaise Citron Vinegar).
2. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve to remove the seeds and place the strained mixture back in the blender.
3. Slowly add the olive oil (we like this Huilerie Beaujolaise Virgin Walnut Oil) in a thin steady stream while the mixture is on to emulsify.
4. If it starts to get warm add a couple ice cubes to cool it down.
5. Once all the olive oil is incorporated, season accordingly.
6. If your raspberries are very tart, add a dollop of honey.
7. Set aside.

Beet greens

1. Wash the beet greens well, pat dry and choose the best looking leaves to chop.
2. Remove the stem all the way up the leaf, you will need about 2 cups worth of chopped greens, reserve the rest for another purpose.
3. Stack the cleaned leaves on top of each other and thinly slice to make a shredded salad mix.
4. Place in fridge.

1. Peel and chop the beets into ¼ inch cubes.
2. Chop the fennel and nectarine (skin-on) the same size.

1. Mix everything but the goat cheese in a large mixing bowl with as much dressing as you prefer, you will probably have extra which will be good for about a week in the fridge.
2. Arrange salad on plate or in a salad bowl and break off pieces of fresh goat cheese to garnish the top.

Chef’s tip - to take this salad one step further add some finely chopped lemon verbena or mint to give it a unique twist!