beet salad

Beets are one of my favorite fall vegetables!  I especially love the earthy quality they provide when incorporated in a salad.  This particular salad is really ALL about the beets, which create the base for the other ingredients.  They're accented by peppery dandelion greens and creamy crumbled goat cheese -- helping to balance their natural sweetness.  I was also able to make the most of some stale sourdough bread in my pantry -- turning them into croutons -- which added a bit of crunch to the salad.  And I tossed it all in a tasty balsamic-thyme vinaigrette. 

For the salad --

10 baby beets (or roughly 4 larger beets)

1 cup dandelion greens, torn into pieces

1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese

4 oz stale bread (sourdough or other), cubed

2 tbl olive oil

1 tsp dry Italian seasoning blend

salt, to taste

For the dressing --
2 tbl shallot, finely chopped

1 tbl rice wine vinegar

3 tbl balsamic vinegar

2 tsp honey

1 tsp mustard
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 sprigs thyme, leaves

salt and pepper, to taste

To start, I roasted the beets (just remove stems and wrap in foil with a bit of oil and salt) at 425 degrees for around an hour (or until tender).  Once cool enough to handle, remove the skins and cut into quarters (if using the baby beets or 1" cubes if using larger beets).  

The croutons are SO easy (you'll never want to by croutons again)!  Heat olive oil in a pan, add cubes of bread and sprinkle with seasoning mixture and salt.  Toss often until slightly browned and crisp on the outside -- this only takes 8 minutes or so. 

Finally, whisk together ingredients for the dressing.  Because the dandelion greens are pretty hearty, you'll want to toss these in a couple tablespoons of dressing and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes.  After the greens have had some time to absorb a bit of the dressing, add beets and toss with more of the dressing (you don't want the salad to be soaked with dressing, so just add until you get the desired ratio -- you should have some left over).  Top beets and greens with the crumbled cheese and a couple handfuls of croutons. Enjoy!