Roasted Beet Salad

One of our good friends loves the Beet Salad at Passionfish.  He is also a foodie who can be a tough critic.  So I must admit his seal of approval on a dish means quite a bit to me.  Then again, the opinions of my family and friends are what I hold most dear when it comes to the concoctions emerging from my kitchen.

Back to the salad...

Looks good doesn't it...

There is something gorgeous about well placed fresh ingredients.  It speaks to the point that simple is usually better.  We can all spend far too much time making the perfect sauce or destroying our kitchen to produce a special meal.  While there is a place for that type of cooking, I think that simple and fresh wins every time.  I may be speaking because I am already sad to see the produce of summer go but I think there is real truth in the fresh, local movement.

All this to say that you should make this salad.  For your next dinner party, special occasion meal, or one weeknight soon.

Roasted Beet Salad

2 lbs of beets, trimmed and peeled

3 TBS of olive oil

1/2 tsp of salt and pepper

4 oz of goat cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup of fresh basil, chopped

1/4 cup of fresh parsley, chopped

2 TBS of balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 400degrees.  Line a small baking sheet with foil.  Place the peeled, whole beets on the sheet and toss in the olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Roast for 30-40 minutes until fork tender.  Note: This step can be done ahead of time.

Slice the beets into 1/4" slices so that you can many rounds of beets.  Brush 1 TBS of balsamic vinegar over your serving platter.  Place a little more than 1/2 of the beets on the serving platter.  Crumble the goat cheese over the first layer of beets.  Layer the remaining beets over the goat cheese.  Sprinkle the fresh herbs all over the top.  Drizzle the remaining balsamic vinegar over the salad.  Serve cold or a room temperature.  Enjoy!