Beets with goat cheese and almonds.
I don’t cook a lot of beets. I love the taste, but would just as soon open a can than make my own. Call me lazy, but I just find the peeling part to be a bother.
Recently though, I threw a dinner party for my friend Teresa, who left Wilson Daniels where I have a daytime job. Teresa had been with the company for a few months shy of 15 years. She was the spirit and soul of the place (read: the instigator of all-things-fun).
When our friend Edna suggested we do something to send her off properly, I volunteered to host a dinner. Teresa’s husband is the farmer behind Big Ranch Farms and so she dropped off a big box of tomatoes and beets for the dinner.
The former I knew immediately what to do with. The latter took a little more work, but I decided to make a salad Teresa had made at another party this summer. It was a mix of arugula, beets and goat cheese.
After the party I still had plenty of beets but no arugula so I improvised and sprinkled chopped almonds on top along with goat cheese and voila!
Now, having cooked beets twice in one week I may make this a habit. I love them, Jack loves them and Josh loves them—albeit sans goat cheese and almonds. I guess you can’t have everything…
Beet and Goat Cheese Salad
Serves 4 as a side dish
6 large (about the size of tennis ball) beets
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped chives
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 ounce goat cheese
1/4 cup chopped toasted almonds
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Place the beets in the center of a large piece of aluminum foil and pull the edges up around the beets and fold the sides together to create a sealed “package.”
Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour. Let cool.
Using a paring knife, peel the skins away from the beets. Transfer the beets to a cutting board and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices.
Arrange the beets in a bowl and drizzle the olive oil over the beets. Drizzle the vinegar over the beets. Sprinkle the chives, salt and pepper over the beets. Sprinkle the goat cheese over the beets and the almonds over the goat cheese. Toss just before serving or serve as is.
What to drink. Sauvignon Blanc. I can’t help it. I love sav blanc with goat cheese. All that fresh, vibrant acidity. Yum. For a splurge I love St. Supéry Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc ($20) and for an every day wine, I reach for Dry Creek Fumé Blanc ($11).
Here in Upstate New York, the real Upstate, north of the Catskills, I grow organic beets every year. The greens are incredible sauteed with some galic and pancetta. The beet roots are packed in sawdust in boxes and last all winter.
I roast them the same way, but peel them with a paper towel by rubbing the skins right off the root. Much easier but still leaves stains on your hands unless you use rubber gloves.
Nice site! Keep up the good work.