Chioggia Beet Salad
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Here is a quick but beautiful and romantic salad perfect for your Valentine’s Day celebration or any other romantic occasion. The beauty is in the freshness and color of the ingredients, naturally. Valentine’s Day menus typically focus around red foods, chocolate and other aphrodisiacs.
I don’t think there is anything more tantalizing than a warm beet salad, with creamy goat cheese and cranberry-balsamic compote to get your dinner started off right. The best thing about it is that it is quick so you don’t have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, instead focusing on more important things!
Chioggia Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Cranberry-Balsamic Compote
INGREDIENTS:
2 giant organic Chioggia beets (the ones I had probably weighed 1 lb each), sliced into ¼ inch rounds
Olive oil to drizzle
Salt, pepper and herbs de Provence to season
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
½ cup red wine
Handful of fresh organic cranberries
Goat cheese (sheep milk feta would do nicely too) – quantity depends on your taste, but a nice hefty crumble between each layer is good.
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Place sliced beets on parchment paper lined cookie sheets, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning (to your taste). Bake for about 35-40 minutes. You want the beets to be nice and roasted, but still soft.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, place the balsamic, wine and cranberries bring to a boil over medium heat and then lower heat and let simmer until it has reduced by half. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, layer the beets, goat cheese and compote, in a stack until all has been used up. Serves 4
For dessert, why not try these quick and easy Dark Chocolate Covered Strawberries, Spicy Mayan Hot Cocoa or Raw Chocolate Pudding – each of these recipes take under 10 minutes to make!
Enjoy!
Make Roux - February 14, 2011 at 2:05 pm
OOH LA LA! That looks beautiful and delicious! This is a dish I’d have to make for myself, as my beloved dislikes both beets and goat cheese. More for me! 🙂 Happy Valentine’s Day! <3
Rosa - February 14, 2011 at 3:06 pm
Oh, I love it! So gorgeous.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Cheers,
Rosa
City Share - February 14, 2011 at 5:17 pm
That combintation of flavors looks fabulous, and chioggia beets are always beautiful. I like the addition of cranberries. Happy Valentine’s Day.
Matt @ FaveDiets - February 14, 2011 at 6:36 pm
This looks like such a wonderful recipe. I’d love it if you would be willing to share this on my blog hop! http://www.favedietsblog.com/announcing-the-first-favediets-blog-hop/
Peter G @ Souvlaki For The Soul - February 14, 2011 at 7:14 pm
Aren’t beets just wonderful? And I love that cranberry balsamic compote…great texture and flavours Jenn. Enjoy your day!
bellini - February 14, 2011 at 10:40 pm
Deep ruby coloured beets and goats cheese are the perfect flavours for Valentines Day. I have gone off of them for the past few years only because of the ruby colured hands and have moved over to golden beets, but there is still nothing like the deep earthy tones of a ruby red beet.
5 Star Foodie - February 15, 2011 at 11:31 am
A gorgeous and delicious salad, love the Cranberry-Balsamic Compote here!
Arlene (MOM) - February 15, 2011 at 12:07 pm
Your recipe looks tantalizing. Yum
Figs, Bay & Wine - February 15, 2011 at 7:48 pm
Cranberry balsamic compote??? My mouth just started watering. What an amazing salad. Wintery and fresh all at the same time. I love this Jenn! I’ll definitely be trying it.
lisaiscooking - February 16, 2011 at 1:42 pm
I might be beets’ biggest fan, and this looks like a great way to serve them. The balsamic and cranberry sauce must have been fantastic with them.
Cara - February 16, 2011 at 8:20 pm
Tantalizing indeed, the fruity compote and the wine sound like the perfect compliment to beets and goat cheese! I wish my Valentines Day had included this bit of love 🙂
Damaris @Kitchen Corners - February 16, 2011 at 8:27 pm
Beets are wonderful and I agree they are perfect for Valentine’s day with their bright red color and sweet taste. However, Valentine’s day is gone and this dish still sounds good. I’m glad I stumbled upon your blog.
Joan Nova - February 16, 2011 at 8:58 pm
That looks really tasty. I like the idea of cranberries in the balsamic glaze and I think I’d sprinkle crushed toasted nuts on top.
kellypea - February 17, 2011 at 9:25 am
I am pretty much a beet rookie, and when I do see a recipe like this one (sounds so good!) I can expect looks of “really?” from my husband. But he will eat them. I need to make them more often 😉
Simone - February 17, 2011 at 12:35 pm
I don’t know why there are so many people that do not like beets, as I totally love them and this salad sounds amazing!
Sylvia - February 20, 2011 at 7:50 am
Whith this salad,i am sure, your Valentine’s Day was fantastic. Love it !!!
Dharm - February 21, 2011 at 8:17 am
That looks more like a dessert than a salad!! Happy Valentines Day too Jenn!~
Ben - February 21, 2011 at 1:31 pm
I first thought it was eggplant, but I’m surprised to find out it is beet. I love beet. It looks so red and romantic, hehe. Beautiful ingredients!
Peter - February 21, 2011 at 5:23 pm
Jenn, I like how you did some yin-yang with the flavours…dancing between sweet, savory and tart!
tasteofbeirut - February 21, 2011 at 9:36 pm
Love beets especially like this!