Hate cooking beets because they turn your fingers purple? Try gold beets instead! This Gold Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Balsamic Dressing makes a great side dish.
I must give credit to Kate Kurtz at Urban Food Producer for inspiring this recipe. I found some gorgeous gold beets at the market and turned to Twitter for ideas about how to prepare them. Kate suggested roasted beets, blue cheese, and watercress dressed with vinaigrette.
Instead of roasting my beets, I decided to steam them (thanks again, Patricia Wells, for another great technique). I used what I had on hand: goat cheese and leaf lettuce. Then I topped my gold beet salad with chives, fresh pepper, and balsamic vinaigrette.
I intended to sprinkle a few roasted pumpkin seeds on top for crunch, but I forgot. (I’m sure this addition would have been spectacular.) These beets were the best ever – perfectly cooked, full of flavor, and they didn’t leave purplish red stains everywhere.
This salad is a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Folate, Manganese, Dietary Fiber, Protein, Vitamin C, and Potassium. Quite a punch for 53 calories! Goat cheese is high in saturated fat, so beware if you are watching your fat intake.
Like beets? Try Roasted Beets with Orange Vinaigrette or Blackberry Ginger Beet Salad with Pecans.
Gold Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 3 gold beets without tops, peeled
- 4 leaves leaf lettuce
- 1 oz goat cheese crumbled
- Balsamic Vinaigrette
- fresh chives minced
- freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Bring water to a simmer in the bottom of medium saucepan fitted with a steaming rack. Place (whole) beets on steamer rack and cover. Steam until beets are cooked, but still firm, about 30 minutes. Let beets cool, then slice into ¼-inch rounds.
- Place lettuce leaves on serving plates. Arrange beet slices and goat cheese on top of lettuce. Drizzle vinaigrette over salad or put vinaigrette in spritz bottle and lightly spray dressing over salad. Garnish with chives and season with pepper.
I wrap my beets in foil after cleaning and drizzling with EVOO, that helps them maintain their moisture, I then peel after roasting about 40 minutes. I make a Gold Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with EVOO and Balsamic Vinegar, I grate my beets!
I’m definitely going to try this next time I have some good-looking beets. Thanks, Kate.
Skin on. Once the beets are done, and slightly cooled, the skin just slips right off. I also leave the spindly root tip and very bottom of the greens in place while roasting, because I find that they don’t ooze as much that way. I just trim those parts off while removing the skin.
Oh, I like the foil idea. Skin on or off?
Yumm. This salad looks delicious. Thanks for the credit, but this salad was all you! The golden beets sure look gorgeous.
Once again I love that you include the nutritional information.
I’ve never steamed beets because I always roast them. Per yours and Patricia’s suggestion, I must try it now. Not sure that I have THE secret to roasting, but I wrap them individually in foil and then roast at 350 F until they are tender. The foil helps them to retain their moisture, and roasting in their own juices intensifies the flavor (in theory). Time of roasting will depend on size of beets, but I usually count on at least 30 minutes. I think I learned this technique from Marc Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything”.