Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Arugula
By Steve DunnPublished on November 18, 2018
Time
55 minutes
Yield
Serves 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Be sure to wear gloves when peeling and dicing the beets to prevent your hands from becoming stained. The moisture content of goat cheese varies, so add the water slowly in step 2. For the best presentation, use red beets here, not golden or Chioggia beets.
Instructions
- In largest bowl your microwave will accommodate, stir together beets, ⅓ cup water, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cover with plate and microwave until beets can be easily pierced with paring knife, 25 to 30 minutes, stirring halfway through microwaving. Drain beets in colander and let cool.
- In medium bowl, use rubber spatula to mash together goat cheese, 1 tablespoon chives, lemon zest and 2 teaspoons juice, caraway seeds, pepper, and ⅛ teaspoon salt. Slowly stir in up to ⅓ cup water until mixture has consistency of regular yogurt. Season with salt, pepper, and extra lemon juice to taste. Spread goat cheese mixture over serving platter.
- In large bowl, combine arugula, 2 tablespoons almonds, 2 teaspoons oil, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and pinch salt and toss to coat. Arrange arugula mixture on top of goat cheese mixture, leaving 1-inch border of goat cheese mixture. Add beets to now-empty bowl and toss with remaining 2 teaspoons lemon juice, remaining 1 teaspoon oil, and remaining pinch salt. Place beet mixture on top of arugula mixture. Sprinkle salad with remaining 2 tablespoons almonds and remaining 1 tablespoon chives and serve.
Time
55 minutesYield
Serves 6Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
Beets are very dense, so roasting whole ones can take up to 2 hours (not including the time it takes for the oven to preheat and for the beets to cool before peeling). So for this beet, arugula, and goat cheese salad, we peeled and cut the beets into small chunks and microwaved them in a covered bowl with a small amount of water. Peeling them before cooking cut out the wait time for them to cool. Cutting them into pieces exposed much more surface area so they cooked faster, and cooking them in the microwave (as opposed to on the stovetop) caused water molecules inside the beets to boil rapidly and intensely, so they cooked through in less than 30 minutes. Beets work well in any side dish, particularly in a salad with arugula and goat cheese. Instead of tossing the components together (which usually results in muddy-looking cheese and beets that sink to the bottom of the bowl), we used the cheese as an anchor for the other ingredients by thinning the goat cheese with lemon juice and water, spreading it on a platter, and topping it with lightly dressed beets and greens as well as toasted almonds for crunch.
Want more? Read the whole storyBefore You Begin
Be sure to wear gloves when peeling and dicing the beets to prevent your hands from becoming stained. The moisture content of goat cheese varies, so add the water slowly in step 2. For the best presentation, use red beets here, not golden or Chioggia beets.
Instructions
- In largest bowl your microwave will accommodate, stir together beets, ⅓ cup water, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cover with plate and microwave until beets can be easily pierced with paring knife, 25 to 30 minutes, stirring halfway through microwaving. Drain beets in colander and let cool.
- In medium bowl, use rubber spatula to mash together goat cheese, 1 tablespoon chives, lemon zest and 2 teaspoons juice, caraway seeds, pepper, and ⅛ teaspoon salt. Slowly stir in up to ⅓ cup water until mixture has consistency of regular yogurt. Season with salt, pepper, and extra lemon juice to taste. Spread goat cheese mixture over serving platter.
- In large bowl, combine arugula, 2 tablespoons almonds, 2 teaspoons oil, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and pinch salt and toss to coat. Arrange arugula mixture on top of goat cheese mixture, leaving 1-inch border of goat cheese mixture. Add beets to now-empty bowl and toss with remaining 2 teaspoons lemon juice, remaining 1 teaspoon oil, and remaining pinch salt. Place beet mixture on top of arugula mixture. Sprinkle salad with remaining 2 tablespoons almonds and remaining 1 tablespoon chives and serve.
Gift This Recipe
Enjoyed this dish? Let others know by sharing it as a gift recipe.
Appears In
Keep Exploring
0 Comments