Roasted Beet and goat cheese salad is the perfect dish to make for your lover on Valentine’s Day. To me, Valentine’s Day is a day to cook for your special someone. Beet’s and goat cheese are a match made in heaven and this salad is topped with blood oranges, candied walnuts, arugula, beet greens all coming together to form this beautiful red and colorful Valentine’s Day salad. And bros! Don’t sleep…start your planning now. Blow your girl away this Valentines Day.
INGREDIENTS
2 Red Beets, with Beet Greens
2 Golden Beets, with Beet Greens
2-3 Handfuls of Arugula
1 Cup, Baby Beet Greens (Or any Micro Greens or radicchio or edible flowers) *Optional*
1 Package, Radish Sprouts *Optional*
2 Blood Oranges, Segmented
4 oz Goat Cheese
5 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
2-3 Tablespoons, Balsamic Reduction or Glaze
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil (For Beets)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil (For Salad)
1/4 Cup Candied Walnuts
1 Teaspoon, Honey
Salt and Pepper
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
The beets take awhile to roast so get those going first. In a roasting tray, add the washed and dried beets with the beet greens removed and reserved for later. Coat the beets in olive oil, salt, and pepper and throw in a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Cover with aluminum foil and roast in the oven for about an hour, or until the biggest beet is tender enough to poke all the way through with a butter knife without any resistance.
While the beets are cooking, prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Pick some smaller beet green leaves, those are the tender ones, the larger ones are better for sautéing. Wash and dry the leaves and then tear them into smaller pieces.
Take the blood oranges and cut the top and bottom off. Then shave the skin and pith off of the flesh of the oranges leaving no with bitter parts remaining. Then in-between the ribs of the oranges, cut and an angle and you will cut out perfect little blood orange segments. (See video) Set aside.
In a big bowl, add the arugula, the baby beet greens, the radish sprouts, and the torn beet greens. Gently toss to combine. Don’t dress it until the absolute last minute.
When the beets are done cooking, let them cool completely before handling. To take the skins off, simply just rub off with your hands and the skin should peel right off. Then cut into halves. Lay it flat side down and then cut into smaller little wedges.
To plate, scatter the red and the golden beats around the plate. Then fill in the gaps with a generous amount of goat cheese. Followed by the first layer of crumbled walnuts, the blood orange segments and a tiny, tiny drizzle of honey. Season with salt and pepper. Then add some crumbled goat cheese to the salad greens and then season the lettuce with a little salt and pepper, a very light drizzle of olive oil and 2-3 drizzles around the bowl of the balsamic reduction. Gently toss the salad around the bowl to allow the lettuce to pick up all that reduction and to lightly dress the salad.
Then grab and a nice handful of the greens and plate that right on top of the beets and goat cheese. Then finish with the rest of the blood orange segments, the walnuts and a final drizzle of balsamic reduction. Set a nice table, open a nice glass of wine and spend some quality time with that special someone in your life. Happy Valentine's day.
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