Resplendent Baby Golden Beet Salad

Roasted Baby Golden Beet, Gala Apple, Kumquat
Raw Sheep’s Milk French Roquefort, Pistachio
Dandelion, Butterhead, Roasted Poblano Vinaigrette
Tricolor Viola & Wild Mustard Flower Garnish

Roasted tarragon-scented sweet soft baby golden beets are paired with tart-crisp apple, bitter-spiky dandelion, creamy-smooth butter lettuce, zingy kumquat, tangy Roquefort, rich pistachios and a playfully-spicy poblano chile vinaigrette. It’s a very refreshing, harmonious, and somewhat surprising salad – which I submit to this month’s 5 Star Makeover Cooking Group Challenge featuring BEETS.

The 5 Star Makeover Cooking Group hosted by Natasha the 5 Star Foodie & Lazaro of Lazaro Cooks! is an outstanding monthly event for sharing ideas and creating gourmet makeovers of selected classic dishes or flavor combinations. It continues to be a great source of inspiration and my absolute pleasure to be on the team. Please visit their blogs this coming Friday to enjoy the round-up of super-creative beets recipes from this talented cooking group.

Components

Beets
trimmed peeled baby golden beets
tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper
roast, covered, with several sprigs of tarragon
at 425° for about 25 minutes
let come to room temperature, slice in half lengthwise

Two Poblano Chile Sauces

4 medium fire-roasted poblano chiles
skinned, seeded, fine-dice

Poblano Puree
roast 1 shallot in 3 T. olive oil at 375° for 30 minutes, let cool slightly
puree 2 chiles with the shallot & olive oil, plus 2 T. water in a blender until smooth
strain through a fine-mesh sieve, season with salt & pepper

Poblano Vinaigrette
combine 2 chiles with 1 T. rice vinegar
whisk in 3 T. olive oil, season with salt & pepper

Gala Apple
julienne, toss with lime juice

Kumquat
sliced and seeded

Roquefort
raw sheep’s milk french roquefort, crumbled

Pistachio
roasted and chopped

Greens
dandelion and butterhead

Flowers
edible tricolor viola and wild mustard

To Combine

gently toss beets, apple, kumquat, roquefort
with poblano vinaigrette

To Compose

arrange dandelion leaves on a platter
dot with poblano puree
top dandelion with 2 butter lettuce leaves
arrange beet mixture over the lettuce
sprinkle with pistachio
garnish with flowers

Resplendent Baby Golden Beet Salad

Inspiration from my hero, Chef Charlie Trotter and the passionate Farmers of Santa Paula, California.

It’s raining beets. Hallelujah. It’s raining beets.
Baby Golden Beet Salad is Part 1 of a two part beet-centric vegetarian meal.
Part 2: Baby Candy Stripe Beet Fettuccine, Beet Syrup is now posted here.