Roasted Beet Salad with Fresh Goat Cheese & Toasted Pecans

INGREDIENTS
1-1/2 lbs fresh beets
8 oz Chevre (fresh goat cheese)
6 Cups baby arugula or mixed greens
1 Cup whole pecans, toasted
1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp Cranberry-Pear White Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tbsp good quality grainy mustard
Freshly-ground black pepper to taste
1/3 Cup + 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

STEPS

Preheat the oven to 400F. Trim the greens and root-end off the beets and wrap them all in one foil packet, drizzled with a tablespoon of water. Roast the beets in their packet for 1 hour, or until vegetables are tender when pierced through with a sharp knife. Remove packet from oven and allow to cool. Once the cooked beets are cool enough to handle, peel them by rubbing the skin off between paper towels. Warning: This will dye your hands a festive shade of bright purply-red.

Cut the cooled, peeled beets into 1″ chunks and toss with 2 Tbsp of Cranberry-Pear White Balsamic Vinegar, whisked together with 2 Tbsp of olive oil, and set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the remaining Cranberry-Pear White Balsamic with the grainy mustard until the two are well combined. Slowly drizzle in your olive oil of choice, continuing to whisk continuously until the dressing is thickened or emulsified. Add freshly-ground black pepper and sea salt to taste.

Arrange the salad greens in a bowl or on a platter, and dress with the Cranberry-Pear White Balsamic vinaigrette. Distribute the marinated roasted beets on top of the salad greens, and top with the crumbled fresh goat cheese and toasted pecans.

Serves 6-8 generous portions

We received this recipe from our olive oil supplier. Yum!