roasted beet salad with arugula, goat cheese, and toasted almonds

“Give me all the green things!” That is literally what my mind is screaming come January and February.

Along with “Dear God, how can it be so cold?” and the inevitable “Why do we live here?” You can’t fully understand how obvious and annoying it is to be still asking these Q’s unless you’ve lived here your whole life, so shush on my bad attitude. (Which is getting slapped in the face by the past week’s 60°?!)

On a more sensible note, beets. There really is no wrong time to roast one. It’s one of those neglected vegetables that I quickly pass by if not reminded that roasting a beet is not hard.

And a beet salad? So, so good. Especially now.

It’s so easy and special that Evie wanted to show you herself. Watch and learn, my adult friends. And if you want to skip ahead to the recipe, all the details are there too. 😉

And once they are cool, here are Ev’s learned tricks to removing the beet skin and making a delicious salad. (She’s honest too, so listen for the whispers!)

Reasons you can too?

Folks, she’s five. Beets are sometimes the color of sunshine or valentines. Arugula is the color of grass. The almonds? Dear, don’t you forget the toasted almonds or the soft goat cheese! AND if you are extra hungry, which is a good thing to notice, put an egg on it! Yum.

Who knows what 2017 will bring, but if you are curious, follow me here or here, and I’ll let you know whenever something worth repeating gets made and shared!

Here are the details!

roasted beet salad with arugula, goat cheese, and toasted almonds

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Ingredients

• 1 clamshell of arugula
• 1 bunch of beets washed and stems cut off leave whole and unpeeled
• 1/2 - 1 cup of slivered almonds
• 1 or 2 teaspoons of olive oil
• 1 - 4- ounce log of fresh goat cheese look for soft goat cheese!

Lemon Dressing Ingredients

• 1 lemon squeezed and strained for seeds and pulp
• 1/2 cup light olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons of Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper or more to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400°.
• Wrap washed beets in foil tightly, set on a pan and let them roast for about 50 minutes to an hour.
• Let them cool in the foil for at least 30 minutes or so.
• When cool enough to handle, unwrap the tinfoil partially and use the foil to rub off the beet skin. Red beets will leave a temporary stain so wear plastic gloves or use tinfoil carefully.
• When all the skin is off, cut the beets in slices or chunks as you wish.
• For dressing, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, mustard, salt, and pepper. Dip a piece of arugula into your dressing to taste and add more seasoning as desired.
• For almonds: Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a pan and add almonds, stirring gently until almonds are evenly browned.
• I like to add dressing a few spoons at a time to a whole bowl of greens to make sure all the greens are coated, save extra dressing to pass if you'd like.
• Assemble salads with dressed greens, almonds, goat cheese, and sliced beets.

Optional: Add roasted chicken or put a fried egg on top! (How to make an over-easy egg!)

Makes about 4-5 lunch size salads!

This post contains affiliate links to products I know and love. I recommend any of them for this recipe!

Servings :4

Author: Heather Bursch

Did you make it? Mention @heatherbursch or tag #shemadeit so we can admire your work!

Enjoy!

~ Heather

P.S. Thanks, Evelyn, for being my current sidekick in the kitchen. Cooking with my young (and older) kids has been one of my favorite memories with my kids. Cole told me when he was four that we would one day have a restaurant called the People Place where all people could come. (Love this inclusive way that is IN him.) Ella, at five, would draw me pictures of different restaurants and name them like her “Strawberry Cafe.” (Love her desire to create food and spaces.) Ev keeps all of these memories alive in our family with her youngest spirit, and I’m so grateful for the time to play and learn about food and life together.

Last Updated on June 15, 2022 by Heather Bursch