Beetroot and goat cheese salad
Beetroot roasted in foil is nothing like the boiled kind — concentrated, sweet and earthy, because the flavour and sugar do not leach into water. Paired with tangy goat cheese and a honey vinaigrette it makes a salad well known from French bistros.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Roasting the beetroot 55 min
- Toasting the walnuts 5 min
- Vinaigrette 5 min
- Assembling 8 min
Step by step
0 / 5 doneRoast the beetroot in foil
Wash the beetroot but do not peel it. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and thyme, wrap each one tightly in foil and roast at 200°C for 50–60 minutes. They are done when a knife slides in with no resistance.
Ingredients: 600 g beetroot · 1 tbsp olive oil · ½ tsp salt · 1 tsp thyme
TipUnpeeled beets lose far less colour and juice. The skin comes away easily once they have cooled.
Foil traps the steam, so the beets roast in their own juices and do not dry out.Toast the walnuts
Heat a dry pan and toast the walnuts for 4–5 minutes, shaking, until fragrant and lightly browned. Tip onto a plate at once — left in the hot pan they turn bitter.
Ingredients: 150 g goat cheese · 60 g walnuts · 80 g rocket
Smell is a better indicator than colour.Make the vinaigrette
Shake olive oil, balsamic, mustard, honey, salt and pepper in a jar. The mustard binds the emulsion and the honey balances the vinegar's acidity. Taste — it should be clearly sharp, because the beets are sweet.
Ingredients: 4 tbsp olive oil · 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar · 1 tsp mustard · 1 tsp honey · ¼ tsp salt · ¼ tsp pepper
In a closed jar the vinaigrette comes together faster than with a whisk.Peel and cut the beetroot
Once the beets are cool enough to hold, rub the skins off with kitchen paper. Cut into eighths and drizzle with two tablespoons of vinaigrette while still warm — that is when they absorb flavour best.
Ingredients: 600 g beetroot · 1 tbsp olive oil · ½ tsp salt · 1 tsp thyme
TipWear gloves or accept pink fingers for the rest of the day.
Assemble the salad
Spread the rocket on a plate, arrange the beetroot on top, crumble over the goat cheese and scatter the walnuts. Pour over the rest of the vinaigrette just before serving — rocket wilts within minutes.
Ingredients: 150 g goat cheese · 60 g walnuts · 80 g rocket
TipAdd the cheese last and do not toss, or the whole salad turns pink.
Before you start
Beetroot ahead
Roasted beetroot keeps 4 days in the fridge. It is the longest stage, so do it alongside some other roasting.
Instead of goat cheese
Feta or gorgonzola both work. Avoid mild cheeses — the beetroot's sweetness needs a bold counterweight, tangy or salty.
Make it filling
Add 150 g of cooked green lentils or buckwheat and the salad becomes a full meal.
