Golden-Beet Salad

Martha Stewart Living (July 2008)

 

We're in the midst of a summer love affair with beets, touched off by this recipe and delicious golden beets that we purchased at our local farmer's market. 

We've already made the salad twice this summer, and eagerly look forward to making it a third time. The delicious combination of rich beets, fresh green beans, and goat cheese, mixed with a Dijon-shallot vinaigrette and sprinkled with fresh basil, is absolute perfection. 

Like many good things, this recipe is not without its drawbacks.  Chiefly, the beets have to be roasted and then cooled.  As we've mentioned before, we try to avoid using our oven whenever possible during the summer.  On the flip side, beets can be roasted a day in advance, which also cuts down on the adding cooling time.

That said, the first time we made this, we roasted and cooled our beets on a weeknight and served the salad that same night, with no major time constraints. 

The only change we made to the recipe was using fresh green beans from the farmer's market, rather than haricot verts that we would have had to purchase at the grocery store.  We suggest using whatever beans are freshest and accessible to you.

Go get your beet on!

Golden-Beet Salad
Martha Stewart Living (July 2008)
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(This Photo:  Martha Stewart Living)

Ingredients

Serves 6

    * 6 large golden beets, trimmed
    * 6 ounces haricots verts, trimmed
    * Coarse salt
    * 2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
    * 2 tablespoons minced shallot (from 1 shallot)
    * 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
    * 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
    * Freshly ground pepper
    * 1/4 cup loosely packed torn fresh basil, plus small leaves for garnish
    * 2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Directions

   1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wrap beets in parchment, then foil, and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tender, about 60 minutes. Let cool completely. Peel and cut beets into 1/2-inch dice. Transfer to a large bowl.
   2. Prepare an ice-water bath. Cook haricots verts in boiling salted water until bright green and crisp tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer to ice-water bath, and drain. Cut beans diagonally into thirds, and add to beets.
   3. Mix vinegar, shallot, and mustard in a small bowl. Add oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking until emulsified. Toss with vegetables, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in torn basil and goat cheese. Garnish with basil leaves.