Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese, Candied Pecans, and Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

If you need a healthy and kidney-friendly dish for any occasion, you can’t go wrong with this recipe for Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese, Candied Pecans, and Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Courtesy of Mike Hargett of Battle Ground, Washington, the recipe is high in folate, magnesium, vitamin C, and fiber.

When choosing beets for the recipe, Mike recommends using “Beets by Mike,” which he says are better than “Beats by Dre.” 😉 

Ingredients:

Salad

• 3 bunches of small to medium beets—tops trimmed and scrubbed
  or
• 3 small packages of cooked beets—sliced to save time
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 small red onion—thinly sliced
• Baby salad greens such as spinach, mixed greens, or arugula
• 1/2 cup of crumbled goat cheese

Honey Balsamic Dressing

• 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup of canola oil
• 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic—minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Candied Pecans

• 1/2 cup of white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of chili flakes (add less if you like it less spicy)
• 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon of water
• 1 pound of pecan halves (you could also use almonds, pine nuts, walnuts etc.)

Instructions:

Candied Pecans:

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
2. Mix sugar, cinnamon, chili flakes, and salt together in a bowl.
3. Whisk egg white and water together in a separate bowl until frothy. Toss pecans in the egg white mixture. Mix sugar mixture into pecan mixture until pecans are evenly coated. Spread coated pecans onto a baking sheet.
4. Bake in the preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, until pecans are evenly browned, 1 hour. As they cool, they will harden and candy.

Salad:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Rub the outside of each beet with some of the olive oil then place beets in roasting pan. Pour 1 cup of water into roasting pan. Cover with foil. Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until beets can be easily pierced with a knife. Let cool, peel, and slice.
3. Honey-balsamic vinaigrette: While the beets are roasting, whisk together ingredients for dressing. Refrigerate until needed. (You can also put all the ingredients into a blender too.)
4. In a bowl, combine sliced, cooled beets, and red onion. Drizzle with 1/2 cup of the dressing and toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 15-20 minutes so the beets absorb some of the dressing and the onions soften up slightly.
5. Place greens on a platter.
6. Top with beet/onion combination, a little more of the vinaigrette, and then sprinkle candied pecans and goat cheese over the top.
7. Serve at once. Enjoy!