Best Ever Beet and Goat Cheese Salad

I grew beets in my garden for the first time this year and I wanted to use them in a salad, but if I don't have fresh cooked beets or my own homemade pickled beets  I have used Costco's pickled beets and all work well. I came across this recipe from "Recipe Girl", and WOW what a great salad!! The caramelized beets, avocado and goat cheese work so well together. My kids gobbled this salad up and gave it a ten out of ten rating! It is definitely one of our favorite salads.


Dressing:

½ Cup Balsamic vinegar
6 Tablespoons finely chopped shallots
2 Tablespoons honey
2/3 Cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Salad:

2 Cups cooked fresh sliced beets (bite size pieces)or pickled or canned beets
6 Cups arugula
6 Cups romaine chopped
¾ Cup toasted chopped pecans
1/3 Cup dried cranberries
1 avocado peeled ,pitted and cubed
6 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
Line a baking sheet with foil.

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees

Whisk vinegar, shallots and honey in a medium sized bowl and slowly whisk in oil. Season to taste.

Toss cooked sliced beets with enough dressing to coat. Place coated beets on foil lined baking sheet and roast until beets are slightly caramelized, about 20-30 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Combine arugula and romaine together. Toss with enough dressing to coat the salad nicely.

Divide salad on plates. Sprinkle with nuts, cranberries, avocado, beets and goat cheese.

Print Recipe:Best Ever Beet & Goat Cheese Salad

Combine dressing ingredients.

Add shallots to dressing.

Add enough dressing to coat the cooked beets. Cook until they are nicely caramelized.

Cook for 20-30 minutes. Allow to cool.

Toss greens with some of the dressing, reserving some for the final touch.

Plate the greens, top with bite size pieces of avocado, beets, nuts, cranberries and goat cheese. The beets and avocado look big in this picture but they are really bite size. Top with dressing.