I’ve been craving spring for weeks now, but the weather around here has been a tease at best. Yesterday was the first Saturday with the slightest semblance of spring, so I headed up to the Union Square Greenmarket in hopes of finding asparagus, ramps, and maybe even some fiddleheads…
Not surprisingly, I was disappointed with the same old root veggies that the vendors have been hawking all winter, but the sprout vendor seemed to have an unusually large selection of sprouts, and I found a delightful bleu goat cheese. My mind was already assembling the beginnings of a schizophrenic salad, dreaming of a day soon when the stalls will be overflowing with tender green goodness.
So it’s Sunday, gloomy and cold again. On goes the oven and in go a head of aging garlic I had sitting around, and a couple beets. Meanwhile my mind is being tantalized by the baby greens in the fridge and some bright yellow lemons. Torn between a winter salad and spring salad, I came to a delicious compromise.
A layer of sweet roast beets with a layer of crisp juicy apple topped with some mizuna, cress and miner lettuce that are dressed in a mellow garlic lemonette (lemon+vinaigrette) all topped with some salty barnyardy bleu goat cheese and some crunchy candied walnuts. Wow, that was a mouthful, but so is the flavor of this salad:-)
Ingredients
For roasting
- 1 beet washed and wrapped in foil
- 1 drizzled garlic EVOO head , tops chopped off , and wrapped in foil
for salad
- 1/2 apple peeled cored and mandolined into " o " s (leave them stuck to keep them from turning brown)
- goat cheese bleu
- walnuts candied
- black pepper fresh ground
for dressing
- 1 clove garlic roast mashed
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
- 1/4 teaspoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (add a little more if you feel it needs it)
- black pepper fresh ground
Steps
- Put the foil wrapped beet(s) and garlic on a baking sheet in a 375 degree oven. The garlic will be done in about 35 minutes, but the beets will need at least an hour (or until you can stick a knife all the way through).
- Whisk all the dressing ingredients together. Peel the beet and slice into 1/8" thick slices. Dress the beets with enough dressing to coat.
- To assemble the salad, just put down 3 pieces of beet on a plate, put 1 or 2 slices of apple on top. Lightly dress the greens with some of the dressing (you won't need it all), and place a handful of greens on top of the beets and apple. Top with some crumbled bleu goat cheese, candied walnuts and some fresh ground pepper.
The flavours are absolutely wonderful here. Beets are so sweet and combined with the walnuts and apples…heaven!
zowie, that looks delicious! great photo!
Boy does that look good. I love salads like these.
The pictures are so pretty!
The flavours are absolutely wonderful here. Beets are so sweet and combined with the walnuts and apples…heaven!
I flipping LOVE roast beetroot! Your salad looks seriously delish.
Oh WOW! That salad sure has a springy soul ;). Love the idea of using candied walnuts. We’re pretty lucky around here since everything is green and spring spoils us with its delicate sunshine.
zowie, that looks delicious! great photo!
Boy does that look good. I love salads like these.
The pictures are so pretty!
sounds wonderful. saw you on opensourcefood re: ginger. love that tip! I infuse mine with chinese rice wine – not for drinking, but perfect for cooking, since most Chinese marinades or stir fries use rice wine anyways.
I flipping LOVE roast beetroot! Your salad looks seriously delish.
Thanks Peter, cakebrain, Emiline, and Laura!
Lore, send us some spring and I’ll send you some of this salad;-)
Steamy, that’s a great idea! I’ll try that next time.
Oh WOW! That salad sure has a springy soul ;). Love the idea of using candied walnuts. We’re pretty lucky around here since everything is green and spring spoils us with its delicate sunshine.
sounds wonderful. saw you on opensourcefood re: ginger. love that tip! I infuse mine with chinese rice wine – not for drinking, but perfect for cooking, since most Chinese marinades or stir fries use rice wine anyways.
Thanks Peter, cakebrain, Emiline, and Laura!
Lore, send us some spring and I’ll send you some of this salad;-)
Steamy, that’s a great idea! I’ll try that next time.
A work of art 🙂
A work of art 🙂