Beet Salad with Fried Goat Cheese

This French Bistro style salad is inspired by a salad I had in Montréal. If you have not been, it is as close to being in France as it gets. I remember eating at a little French restaurant and seeing a salad with warm goat cheese on the menu. At the time, I had just graduated college and had fallen in love with goat cheese the year before when I was studying abroad. If a menu item included goat cheese, I ordered it.  I hadn’t had warm goat cheese on a salad, but I was intrigued. It was truly delightful. The melted creaminess won me over.  I decided to try adding fried goat cheese to a salad with roasted beets and it turned out so well! I served this salad on Easter with my roasted chicken recipe, and it was a lovely memorable meal.

8 oz goat cheese log

½ cup breadcrumbs, panko or regular

2 tablespoon olive oil, divided

6-8 cups mixed greens

3 beets, trimmed and scrubbed (or prepackaged cooked beets)

¼ cup salted marcona almonds

Balsamic Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

¼ cup olive oil

¼ tsp salt

½ tablespoon Dijon mustard

Freshly ground black pepper

(Skip this step if using prepackaged beets)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the trimmed beets in a medium sized baking dish. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Place 1/2 cup of water in the bottom of the baking dish and cover with foil. Cook for 45-50 minutes. It may take longer depending on the size of the beets. Pierce with a fork to check for doneness. Let cool, then peel and slice the beets into wedges. I like to do this step the day before so the beets are ready when making the salad.

Cut the goat cheese log into 8 even pieces. Place the breadcrumbs on a plate and press each piece of goat cheese into the breadcrumbs, ensuring all sides are covered. Place the goat cheese rounds on a plate or baking sheet and put in the freezer for 15-20 minutes.

In a small bowl or pitcher, whisk together the ingredients for the balsamic vinaigrette.

Once goat cheese is chilled, add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the goat cheese rounds and cook until golden brown, then flip and cook until that side is golden brown. Remove goat cheese from the pan and place on a plate.

Just before serving, mix your greens with desired amount of salad dressing in a large bowl. Divide the mixed greens into 4 salad bowls. Top each salad with 2 pieces of fried goat cheese, 4-5 slices of beets, and about a tablespoon of the marcona almonds.

Serves 4