Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with Walnuts and Balsamic Vinaigrette
Sweet, tender foil-roasted beets are tossed in a sharp shallot-balsamic vinaigrette while still warm, then piled over peppery arugula with creamy goat cheese and toasted walnuts. It is a classic French bistro-style salad that works as a starter or a light lunch.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 1 hr
- Wait
- 20 min
- Total
- 1 hr 40 min
- Makes
- 4 side or starter salads (about 1½ cups each)
Steps
Before you start
- Choose beets of similar size (about 2 inches / 5 cm across) so they all finish roasting at the same time. If yours vary, halve the big ones.
- Beet juice stains hands, cutting boards and countertops. Use a board you don't mind staining, or line it with parchment, and wear gloves if you like.
- Take the goat cheese out of the fridge when you start; slightly softened cheese crumbles more cleanly. Cold, firm goat cheese is easier to slice, so crumble it with a fork just before serving.
- Plan on about 100 minutes in total, most of it hands-off roasting and cooling.
Prep and wrap beets
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°F (200°C).
- Scrub the beets under cold running water, then trim the tops to ½ inch (1 cm), leaving the root tails on so the color doesn't bleed.
- Tear off a sheet of foil about 18 inches (45 cm) long and set it on the rimmed baking sheet.
- Add the beets, drizzle with 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil, sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, and turn to coat.
- Fold the foil over and crimp the edges to make a tightly sealed packet.
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Ready when: Packet is fully sealed with no gaps for steam to escape.
Tip: Sealing the packet well steams the beets so they cook evenly and the skins slip off later.
Roast the beetsOven 400°F / 205°C
- Slide the baking sheet into the 400°F (200°C) oven and roast for 50 to 60 minutes.
- After 50 minutes, carefully open one corner of the packet (watch for hot steam) and pierce the largest beet with a paring knife.
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Ready when: A paring knife slides into the center of the largest beet with no resistance, like piercing a cooked potato. If it resists, reseal and roast 10 minutes more.
Tip: Smaller beets may be done at 45 minutes, so check early if yours are under 2 inches.
Toast the walnuts
- While the beets roast, set the dry 8-inch (20 cm) skillet over medium heat.
- Add the walnut pieces and toast, stirring or shaking the pan often, for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Tip them onto a plate right away to stop the cooking.
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Ready when: The walnuts smell nutty and toasty, and the cut edges look a shade darker golden-brown.
Tip: Walnuts go from toasted to bitter quickly. Don't walk away from the pan.
Shake the vinaigrette
- In the jar, combine 3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil, 2 tablespoons (30 ml) balsamic vinegar, 1 teaspoon Dijon, 1 teaspoon honey, the minced shallot, ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt and several grinds of black pepper.
- Seal and shake hard for 15 seconds.
- Taste on a piece of arugula and adjust with a pinch more salt or a few drops of vinegar if needed.
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Ready when: The dressing looks thick, glossy and fully emulsified, with no separate pool of oil.
Tip: Let the shallot sit in the dressing while the beets cool. It mellows and loses its raw bite.
Cool and peel beets
- Remove the beets from the oven and open the packet carefully.
- Let them sit for 15 to 20 minutes, until cool enough to handle but still slightly warm.
- Hold each beet in a folded paper towel and rub; the skins should slide off.
- Trim off the stem ends and root tails with a paring knife.
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Ready when: Skins slip off easily under gentle rubbing, leaving smooth, deep-red flesh.
Tip: Peel while still warm. Fully cooled beets cling to their skins and are harder to peel.
Dress the warm beets
- Cut the peeled beets into ¾-inch (2 cm) wedges (halve any very small ones).
- Place them in the large mixing bowl, shake the vinaigrette again, and pour in 2 tablespoons of it.
- Toss gently and let the beets sit for 5 minutes so they absorb the dressing.
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Ready when: The wedges look glossy and evenly coated, with no dry patches.
Tip: Lift the beets out with a slotted spoon when plating, so any pink juices stay behind.
Toss the arugula
- Place the dried arugula in a second large bowl, or on a wide platter.
- Drizzle with 1 to 2 tablespoons of the remaining vinaigrette (use about half the leftover dressing to start) and toss gently with your hands until the leaves are lightly coated and just glistening.
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Ready when: The leaves are lightly shiny but not wilted or pooling with dressing.
Tip: Dress the arugula just before serving. Salt and acid make the leaves wilt within a few minutes.
Assemble and serve
- Divide the dressed arugula among 4 plates, or leave on the platter.
- Top with the dressed beet wedges, scatter over the crumbled goat cheese and toasted walnuts, and finish with the chives, if using, and a grind of black pepper.
- Serve right away, while the beets are still faintly warm.
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Ready when: Each plate has a loose mound of greens topped with beets, cheese and nuts, with the goat cheese in distinct crumbles.
Tip: Add the goat cheese last so it doesn't turn pink from the beet juices.
Good to know
Tips
- Use a mix of red and golden beets for a colorful plate, but roast them in separate foil packets and dress the golden ones separately so the red juice doesn't stain them.
- Dressing the beets while they're still warm lets them absorb the vinaigrette and gives much deeper flavor than dressing them cold.
- For clean goat cheese crumbles, chill the log for 10 minutes in the freezer, or slice it into rounds with unflavored dental floss, then break the rounds apart.
- Roast the beets in a sealed foil packet rather than uncovered; this prevents wrinkled, dried-out skins and keeps the flesh moist.
Make ahead
Roast, peel and cut the beets up to 3 days ahead; store them in an airtight container in the fridge, and toast the walnuts up to 2 days ahead and keep them at room temperature. Make the vinaigrette up to 5 days ahead and refrigerate. Bring the beets and dressing to room temperature (or warm the beets for 30 seconds in the microwave), then assemble just before serving.
Storage & reheating
Best eaten right after assembly. Undressed components keep separately in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days (beets, cheese, dressing); walnuts keep at room temperature for 2 days. Assembled salad leftovers keep in the fridge for 1 day, but the arugula will wilt. Cooked beets can be frozen for up to 3 months, though they soften; thaw in the fridge overnight and use in the salad or reheat in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 10 minutes.
Substitutions
- walnut halves → pecans or hazelnuts. Toast them the same way. Hazelnuts take about 1 minute longer; rub off the loose skins in a towel.
- baby arugula → baby spinach or mixed baby greens. The salad will be milder and less peppery; add an extra pinch of pepper to the dressing.
- fresh goat cheese (chèvre) log → feta or ricotta salata. Feta is saltier, so reduce the salt in the vinaigrette to a pinch.
- honey → maple syrup. Use the same amount. This also makes the dressing vegan-friendly (if you omit the cheese).
