STORY
I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed beets until recently. I loved them as a little kid, but I think I was influenced by peer pressure sometime between my 5 birthday and my 25th. I avoided them, and when I did finally get a chance to eat them they were always the wretched canned variety. And then, during a date I was offered a forkful. I don’t remember the date, but I do remember the first taste of beets, paired with goat cheese and arugula. Bliss. Over the years, I’ve had beet salads with arugula that are usually paired with both sweet and savory dressings, but on Halloween I had a friend over for dinner and I thought, why not try maple syrup. I’m so incredibly glad I did. Bliss, rediscovered.
RECIPE
- Prep Time: 5 – 10 minutes to combine ingredients
- Cook Time: 1 hr (to boil the beets)
- Total Time: 1 hr and 10 minutes, tops
TOOLS
- small sauce pan
- cutting board
- sharp 8 inch knife
- small prep bowl
- 1 small whisk
INGREDIENTS
1 medium-sized beet (cleaned, with skin on)
1 heaping handful of arugula (washed and dried)
½ packet of goat cheese
1 handful of walnuts
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
½ tablespoon of olive oil (optional)
1 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper
METHOD
- Place beet in a pot of boiling water.
- Boil beet for 1 hour (until tender).
- Once beet is tender, remove from boiling water, and cool until room temperature.
- Peel skin off of cool beet, and cut beet in half, and thinly slice the beet into little half moon pieces.
- Trim the stems off of the arugula and arrange on a platter or in a large bowl.
- Sprinkle beet slices over the arugula.
- Chop the goat cheese into small chunks and sprinkle over beets and arugula
- Sprinkle walnuts over beets, arugula, and goat cheese.
- In a small separate bowl mix 1 tbsp of maple syrup, 1 tbsp o balsamic vinegar, and ½ tbsp of olive oil (optional). Sprinkle in ½ a tsp of ground pepper and whisk until combined.
- Drizzle over salad, and eat.
(Photo Credit: Matthew G. Piccolo)
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