Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Salad Recipe

Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with Spiced Pecans

Serves 6

Ingredients
for Roasted Beets

3 medium beets – red or golden
1-2 tablespoons Olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt

For Salad

6 cups mescluen mix or any blend of mixed greens
¼ - ½ cup (depending on your preference) crumbled Goat Cheese

For Dressing

1 inch fresh ginger root
1 garlic clove
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup mint leaves
1/3 cup plain yogurt
2 teaspoons honey
½ teaspoon chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup olive oil

For Spiced Pecans

1 pound pecan halves
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ tablespoons melted butter
½ tablespoon cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon ground anise
½ teaspoon ginger powder
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
dash nutmeg

Directions

For Beets: Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Scrub beets and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast in the center of the oven for 2 hours or longer for larger beets, turning once midway. Beets are fork tender when done. Let beets cool completely before removing the outer skin with a paring knife. Julienne, dice or slice for your salad.

For Dressing: for a fine mince add ginger and garlic to the food processor with the motor running. Add vinegar, mint, yogurt, honey, chili powder, salt and pepper to processor work bowl. Pulse until well combined. With the motor running add olive oil in a steady stream. Store dressing in an airtight container for up to 10 days.

For the Pecans: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl gently toss pecans with olive oil. Spread pecans out evenly on a baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, giving them a toss at 2 ½ minutes. While the nuts are roasting, combine all of the spices along with brown sugar, salt and pepper and set aside. Place melted butter in original mixing bowl. Add hot pecans to the melted butter and gently mix. Add spice mix and toss to coat. Transfer coated nuts back to the baking sheet, spread evenly and roast for an addition 7-8 minutes, tossing once halfway through baking time. Let pecans cool on the baking sheet completely before storing in an airtight container

To build the salad place mixed greens on a platter. Top with sliced beets, a handful of nuts and crumbled goat cheese. Drizzle with Minted Yogurt dressing and enjoy!