Wonderful salad with blue or goat cheese and walnuts
- Carbohydrate 20.9704578333333 g
- Cholesterol 14.175 mg
- Fat 24.0320547777778 g
- Fiber 6.14567493085861 g
- Protein 9.6759025 g
- Saturated Fat 5.03957644444444 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (236g)
- Sodium 411.346466666667 mg
- Sugar 14.8247829024747 g
- Trans Fat 1.5380525 g
- Calories 326 calories
Step-by-step
- Cover each beet in foil and roast at 400 for one hour.
- Completely cool and peel, cut into 1/2 inch cubes.
- Refrigerate beets for 2 hours in plastic bag.
- Mix vinegar, salt and peper. Wisk in oil.
- Put beets, walnuts and cheese in a bowl.
- Pour dressing over beets and toss to coat, then enjoy.
Deep crimson cubes yield a tender resistance between the teeth, offset by the sharp, crumbly tang of aged cheese and the rich crunch of toasted nuts. Roasting root vegetables whole inside sealed foil packets traps natural moisture, concentrating sugars without scorching the exterior. Many cooks commit the critical error of slicing hot roots immediately, which causes internal starches to turn mealy and releases too much water, diluting the dressing.
Allow roasted roots to cool completely before peeling the skins away with friction from a dry paper towel. Chill peeled cubes inside a sealed plastic bag for at least two hours to firm the cell structure, ensuring clean edges when cut and preventing the warm temperature from melting the cheese upon contact. Whisking balsamic vinegar and salt thoroughly before streaming in oil creates a temporary emulsion that clings properly to dense vegetables instead of pooling at the bottom of the bowl.
Walnut oil offers a distinctly nutty profile that enhances the nuts, though extra virgin olive oil serves as an effective substitute at a one-to-one ratio. Selecting goat cheese provides a bright, lactic acidity, whereas blue cheese introduces a pungent, salty bite that cuts through the inherent sweetness of the roots. Freshly cracked black pepper supplies necessary pungency to balance the earthy root profile.
