Beets. They’re like cilantro. You either love them or hate them. Matt loves them. Until fairly recently, probably 5 years ago, I was in the other category. The dish that changed my opinion was Matt’s beet salad, probably because it included one of my favorite things, goat cheese. I have personally witnessed a handful of people who have become beet converts because of this salad.

After that salad, I was on board. Beet and beet green risotto? Yes please. Raw beets in salads? Of course. Beet chips? Definitely!

Don’t just think beets have to be the dark red basic you grew up with. Golden beets are absolutely gorgeous and Chioggia beets are red and white striped! Also, play around with various sizes. Tiny beets mixed with chunks of larger beets add fun diversity.

And don’t you dare toss those greens! We would have used greens in the salad below, but we had already cooked them earlier this week with some Swiss chard and kale when we made a beef roast on Sunday.

Roasting beets is super easy. Simply wash and cut off the greens. Wrap large beets individually in foil. If you have tiny beets, they can share a foil packet. I add a few drops of water to allow them to steam a little bit. Put them in a 375 degree oven and start checking after 30-40 minutes. A knife should very easily slide into the beet. Let them cool completely and then, wearing gloves if you’d like, rub off the skin. Do this on Sunday and eat the beets throughout the week.

Beet & Goat Cheese Salad
* serves 2

Ingredients:

• 3 large roasted beets and a handful of tiny roasted beets
• 1 orange, segmented – membrane squeezed, reserve juice
• 6 leaves escarole, chopped (you can use beet greens or spinach if you wish)
• 2 handfuls toasted walnuts
• 3 oz goat cheese
• Salt & pepper
• Olive oil
• White wine vinegar

Directions:

1. Place orange segments, orange juice, escarole, walnuts, and goat cheese in a bowl. Season with salt & pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and white wine vinegar. Taste and adjust to your liking.
2. Stir in beets and serve. – We served our salad with pan-seared salmon and it was amazing!