Beets and Goat Cheese Salad Recipe

Host: Forget what comes in the can because nothing compares to fresh garden beets. The beet root is harvested primarily for its earthy flavored root. Many cook up the leaves as well. The veggie might be know for being beet red, but the beet comes in a variety of colors. You can plant beets in January and February and expect to eat them comes spring time. Food and lifestyle expert, Laura McIntosh is bringing it home with the fabulous beet salad with goat cheese. Laura McIntosh: All right, our recipe. What are we doing today? Molly Hawks: Okay, so we’re going to make a very simple salad out of a soft private goat cheese, some baby beets and a little. Laura McIntosh: Okay. Now, I'm not a fan of beets but I hear that this salad is to die for. Molly Hawks: It is. We do variations of the salad in the restaurant every fall. And the beets if properly cooked are beautiful. Laura McIntosh: They are, aren’t they? Okay, so let’s show everyone how to do it. What's the first step? Molly Hawks: Okay. So first, we’re going to prepare the beets, we’re going to just trim the tops off here. Laura McIntosh: Oh, look at that color. Molly Hawks: Yeah, gorgeous color and inside. Laura McIntosh: That’s beautiful. Molly Hawks: Many varieties of beets, you can get the red, the pinks, the yellows. Laura McIntosh: They’re beautiful, they’re gorgeous. Molly Hawks: So we’re just going to peel this guy and then you want to cut it up. All right, cut it. Laura McIntosh: Whatever you want. Are we doing chunks? I can do chunks nice and easy. Molly Hawks: Yeah. Okay, go for it. Laura McIntosh: Okay. I call that the caveman cut. So we can do that. Look at how beautiful that is. And then we are sautéing this? Molly Hawks: Yes. Let this get nice and hot. Laura McIntosh: Now, as far as sautéing, there is always a trick to it a little bit. Make sure your olive oil in your pan is nice and hot. Molly Hawks: Absolutely. You don’t get the caramelization on your vegetables if you don’t, or whatever you are cooking unless you get the oil properly hot. Laura McIntosh: All right, so that’s a really good tip to use when you’re in the kitchen. Molly Hawks: All right, so it looks like we’re pretty good here. So we’ll go ahead and toss this in. Laura McIntosh: There we go. Molly Hawks: Get them all in there and just let them rest for a little while until we get some nice color on them. Laura McIntosh: Let them do their thing. Okay, and you have some already done. Let’s take a look at it just so that we can see what it looks like when they come out. Now, look at that and it keeps its colors. Molly Hawks: Beautiful. Just a little olive oil, salt and pepper and that’s all you need and the natural sugars come through. Laura McIntosh: Perfect. Okay, that was easy. Molly Hawks: Yeah. Okay, so now, basically, we can – our salad here, a little pinch of salt and a crack of black pepper and just toss that up. Laura McIntosh: What's really nice are these are simple ingredients, you’re highlighting the flavor and the taste and you’re not masking with it with a lot of different. Molly Hawks: Absolutely, and that’s our preferred style of cooking, just to start with the best ingredients and a simple preparation. Laura McIntosh: All right, we are mixed. Molly Hawks: All right. So I'm going to take our goat cheese here and this is a wheel of a soft ripened goat cheese. We have let this come up to room temperature so it’s nice and soft now. Laura McIntosh: Right, okay. Molly Hawks: I'm just going to cut it in half. So now, we need to assemble the salads. Our goat cheese here. Laura McIntosh: This is what I love to watch. I love to watch the chefs put it together. Molly Hawks: We’ll take some of our beets here, put them in the plate there. Laura McIntosh: Look at that. Molly Hawks: Chop it off with our beautiful arugula. Laura McIntosh: Okay, that’s great. Molly Hawks: And last, we can’t forget the walnuts. Laura McIntosh: No, of course our nuts here. Molly Hawks: And these are just walnuts that have been lightly rested in the oven and chopped up. Laura McIntosh: Remember, when you toast any kind of nut that you have, it brings out the oils which give it a little more flavor, it just really opens it up and just makes it pop in your mouth. Molly Hawks: Absolutely. Laura McIntosh: Molly, thank you so much. Molly Hawks: You’re welcome. Laura McIntosh: And if you don’t feel like making this at home. Remember, you can go to the restaurant. Hawks in Granite Bay. Molly Hawks: We’ll prepare it for you. Laura McIntosh: Perfect. All right, now, this is really good.