Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese, Pine Nuts & Honey-Dijon Vinaigrette

I had never actually roasted beets before making this salad, which came about when I randomly picked up beets at the grocery store with no idea what I wanted to do with them.  But when I got home, I started thinking about how when we go to nice restaurants, I will often order a beet salad because they are so delicious.  And it turns out they are incredibly easy as well!  In all honesty, the girls rebelled and made gagging noises over the beets and goat cheese, which is not the norm for my good little eaters.  But Paul said it is the best salad he has had in a long, long time.  We both loved it and ate it with just simple scones (the fried Utah-style scones) as our dinner and it was delicious.

ROASTED BEET SALAD WITH GOAT CHEESE, PINE NUTS & HONEY-DIJON VINAIGRETTE

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS

For the Beets

1 bunch medium beets (about 3)
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

For the Salad

10 ounces mixed greens
4 ounces goat cheese (I like chive & onion goat cheese for this salad)
1/2 cup pine nuts (or coarsely chopped walnuts)

For the Vinaigrette

2 Tablespoons honey
1 1/2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 1/2 Tablespoons minced shallots
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 Tablespoons vegetable oil

INSTRUCTIONS

For the Beets

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Wash beets well and trim stems off.  Place beets on a large piece of aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil.  Wrap foil loosely around beets and seal to form a neat packet, then place in the oven and roast for about 1 hour or until tender.  Test for doneness by piercing the largest beet with a knife.  It will enter easily when beets are done.  Remove beets from oven and let them sit until cool enough to handle.  Use a paring knife to peel the skin, then cut into 1/2-inch dice.  If you do your work over the foil on top of a cutting board, it should be pretty easy clean-up without getting the beet juice (which stains!) everywhere.  Set aside.

For the Vinaigrette

Add all vinaigrette ingredients to a jar, seal with a lid, and shake vigorously to blend.  Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

For the Salad

Place the greens in a large bowl, drizzle with about half of the vinaigrette and toss to combine.  Divide greens onto plates, then sprinkle with beets, pine nuts and goat cheese.  Serve immediately with remaining additional vinaigrette on the side.

Recipe lightly adapted from Once Upon A Chef.