This wonderfully earthy salad is perfect for those Autumn months. With a tasty balance of sweet and tangy, this maple glazed beet and goat cheese salad is sure to make it into your fall food roster.
Beets are often an underappreciated ingredient, usually relegated to things like borsch or extracted for its sugar. However they offer a sweet earthiness to plenty of dishes and go great in salads. This beet and goat cheese salad is a great example of how to use this versatile ingredient.
This salad also uses my homemade fig vinaigrette salad dressing, but you can use many different dressings here. I also think my grapefruit vinaigrette or even my miso salad dressing would go great in this dish.
How To Make A Maple Glazed Beet And Goat Cheese Salad
This recipe uses mostly common ingredients, although you will probably have to pick up some stuff at the grocery store. As far as the greens go, I use spinach but you can use rocket or lettuce or whatever you prefer!
Ingredients
- 2 medium sized Beets – boiled and peeled. You can also use boiled and peeled beets for another great recipe: beetroot salad with bryndza!
- 3 Avocados
- 250 grams Spinach – or greens of your choice
- 100 grams Goat Cheese
- 2 tbsp Maple Syrup – Grade A dark
- 1 tbsp Fig Paste – you can also use fig jam or fig puree. They are all pretty similar and work in this recipe
- A handful of Walnuts – use as much as you want!
- 1 Lemon – juiced, makes about 3 tbsp of lemon juice.
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- Black Pepper – to taste
- Olive Oil – roughly a cup, but you might want more or less depending on your preferred dressing consistency.
If you buy already boiled beets from the store you can start right away, otherwise boil your beets for 1 hour in water and then peel the skin off (it should come off easily). Cut the beets into rather large chunks and spread on a baking tray. Drizzle with the maple syrup and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
Place the tray in an oven pre-heated to 180C or 350F for about 12 minutes. While the beets are roasting you can make the rest of the salad.
In a mixing bowl add the fig paste, lemon juice, rest of the salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. Slowly trickle in the olive oil while whisking until you get a nice emulsion at your desired consistency. You can use as much or as little dressing as you like in the finished beet and goat cheese salad, but I end up using all of it.
To make the salad I mix together the spinach with the walnuts and toss with the dressing. Then I add in diced avocado, crumbled goat cheese, and the maple glazed beets. You can gently toss again but I don’t do it much since I like the avocado and cheese to stay in fairly large pieces.
Maple Glazed Beet And Goat Cheese Salad
Equipment
- 1 Baking Tray
Ingredients
- 2 medium Beets boiled and peeled.
- 3 Avocados
- 250 grams Spinach or greens of your choice
- 100 grams Goat Cheese
- 2 tbsp Maple Syrup Grade A dark
- 1 tbsp Fig Paste you can also use fig jam or fig puree. They are all pretty similar and work in this recipe
- 1 handful Walnuts use as much as you want!
- 1 Lemon juiced, makes about 3 tbsp of lemon juice.
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- Black Pepper to taste
- Olive Oil roughly a cup but you might want more or less depending on your preferred dressing consistency.
Instructions
Maple Glazed Beets
- Dice your peeled and boiled beets into large chunks and spread on a baking tray. Drizzle with maple syrup and a pinch of salt and pop in the oven at 180C or 350F for around 12 minutes.
- While the beets are roasting you can dice your avocado and prepare the dressing. This dressing is optional, you can use another dressing if you prefer.
Fig Vinaigrette
- In a bowl add the fig paste, lemon juice, salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. Slowly drizzle in olive oil as you whisk until you get a desired consistency and emulsion.
Building The Salad
- To compose the salad add the spinach and walnuts to a bowl and toss with the dressing. Then place on the diced avocado, crumbled goat cheese, and glazed beets for presentation. Enjoy!
