Roasted Beet, Goat Cheese and Avocado Stacked Salad





So I found this recipe on Pinterest a while back and I've been meaning to make it.  Even though it is a very simple salad, its presentation looks very fancy.  Today we are celebrating the Persian holiday, Chaharshanbe Suri and we are having my in-laws over.  I decided to make this salad with grilled rib eye, cheesy potatoes and corn. 


Here is my finished salad.  Roasted beets, goat cheese, butter lettuce (I could not find micro greens so I substituted this lettuce instead), avocado and orange & shallot vinaigrette. 

I loved all of the elements that make up this salad, but I thought I would add my own little twist.  I added a slice of avocado to mine.  I also followed the recipe to a T, but I felt like it needed a bit more salt.  I sprinkled some kosher salt over the avocado layer and that did the trick.  OMIGEE!!  It came out amazing!  If you are looking for an easy salad to make that will WOW your guests, make this salad!   This recipe is a KEEPER!!!


Here are the ingredients for the roasted beets (LOL look who photo bombed my picture -- so cute!)

Here are the beets all dressed and ready to be roasted.

I used my own naval oranges to make the vinaigrette for this recipe.  So sweet and juicy!

Here is the vinaigrette. 

All gone ... can you tell I LOVED this salad? 

Here is the recipe and the link from Cooking By Moonlight website (which was posted on Pinterest) ... Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Stacked Salad:

Ingredients

yields 2-3 salads

1 batch roasted beets, cooled (recipe below)

1/2 cup micro-greens or arugula (I could not find the micro-greens so I used butter lettuce)
4 oz log fresh goat cheese
1 medium avocado (my addition)
1 batch orange sherry vinaigrette (recipe below)

Directions

1.  Toss the micro-greens, arugula or lettuce in the dressing (see below). Slice the goat cheese log into small disks about 1/4 inch thick. Layer the salad on small serving plates. Beet, cheese, dressed greens, avocado, beet, cheese, dressed greens, avocado, beet.  Sprinkle each of the avocado layers with a bit of kosher salt.

2. Drizzle any additional dressing on top of the salad.

Roasted Beet Recipe

3 large beets, peeled, and cut into 1/2 slices
2 T. olive oil
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 t. fresh thyme leaves (I used 1/4 tsp of dried thyme)

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Clean and peel beets (careful they can dye your clothes so be sure to wear an apron or something you are keen on replacing soon!). Slice the beets into 1/2 inch slices. Toss beets with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme.

3. Arrange beets on a pan and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Turning 2 times half way through (don't use your favorite white spatula though - unless you want it to become your favorite pink spatula!). You will know the beets are done when they are tender to the touch.

4. Remove beets from oven and allow to cool. You can stop here and place them in the refrigerator

overnight if you like and make the rest of the salad just before serving.

Orange-Sherry Vinaigrette

2 T. fresh squeezed orange juice (about 1/2 an orange)

1 T. sherry vinegar

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1/2 t. fresh thyme leaves

1 T. finely minced shallots (about 1/2 small shallot)

2 T. olive oil

 

Directions

 

1. Place all ingredients except the olive oil in a bowl and whisk to combine.

2. Whisk the in the olive oil. You can add more to your liking if you prefer your dressings on the less acidic side. Try adding an additional 1/2 tablespoon at a time up to 2 more tablespoons. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

**You can make a double batch of this and keep it around - I really love it drizzled on about any veggie, especially asparagus and green beans.

 

Happy Pinning folks!