Bring on the fresh beets and oranges and goat cheese! Here’s a beautiful and healthy summer salad. Easy-peasy and impressive!
Fresh Beet and Orange Salad with Goat Cheese and Mint
Recipe by: Bobbi Jo Lathan
Recipe type: Appetizer
Serves: 2
PREP TIME
15 mins
COOK TIME
40 mins
TOTAL TIME
55 mins
INGREDIENTS
3 fresh medium-sized beets
3 fresh blood oranges or navel oranges
1 log of goat cheese
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 fresh mint leaves
Edible flowers (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Trim off the leaves leaving about 1-inch of stems. Also, trim the root leaving about ½-inch of root. (We don’t want to lose all the beet juice. I wash and save the green beet leaves for tomorrow’s tossed salad.) Do not remove the skins. Then, scrub the beets.
Place the scrubbed beets into a pot and fill it with water and a little salt. Place the pot on your burner. Bring it to a boil and cook over a medium-high heat for 30-45 minutes (depending on the size of the beets.) until tender. You can stick a sharp knife into a cooked beet. If it goes through easily, they’re done. (Note: If it cooks down and they’re still not tender, just add a cup or so of water and continue boiling ‘til done.)
Once tender, remove the beets from the water and place in a bowl to cool.
While the beets are cooling, we’ll slice the oranges. First, cut off both ends of the orange just enough to expose the fruit inside. Now, we can place the orange on a flat surface in order to cut the peel and pith away. Using a sharp knife, place the upright orange on your flat cutting board and starting at the top, slice down each side of the orange, following the curve, cutting away the peel and pith. You will do this in sections from top to bottom until the whole orange is peeled. Then, turn the orange on its side and gently slice the orange into disks or circles. Set the orange slices aside to assemble later.
Once the beets are cool enough to handle, cut off the stems and roots, and simply rub the skins off with your fingers. If the skins don’t come off easily, just use a paring knife to gently remove any remaining skin. (Don’t worry, the red beet juice comes off with a little soap and water. Also, a little bleach will take it off you counter tops.) Now, slice your beets into little circles or disks.
When you’re ready to assemble, get out your salad plates and arrange an orange slice and overlap a beet slice on your plate following the circle of the plate, working towards the center until the plate is full. Then pinch off some little pieces of your goat cheese and sprinkle over the salad. Top with a few fresh mint leaves and edible flowers. (I used the little yellow flowers from my broccoli plants in my garden.) Sprinkle with some freshly ground black pepper and salt and serve.
If you feel you need a dressing...
Orange Vinaigrette
Recipe by: Bobbi Jo Lathan
Recipe type: Salad Dressing
INGREDIENTS
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
juice of ½ orange (about 3 tbs)
1 tbs dijon mustard
1 tbs honey
1 tbs golden balsamic vinegar
zest of ½ orange
¼ tsp salt
freshly cracked black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
Close jelly jar and shake well.
Spoon a limited amount on the salad.
NOTES
Frankly, I like mine without the dressing, but it’s up to you!