Recipe from Andrew Carmellini
Adapted by Julia Moskin
- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus cooling and marinating
- Rating
- 4(1,106)
- Notes
- Read community notes
It's easy to make a pretty good beet salad, but this one makes the leap into greatness. After decades of kitchen experiments, the chef and beet maven Andrew Carmellini shared how to elevate both elements: marinate the beets, then season and whip the goat cheese.Feel free to cook the beets on a grill instead of in the oven if you've got a fire going. Young beets, juicy and tender enough to bite into, can be used instead of the thick-skinned, mature kind. But do not roast: Steam them just until tender. —Julia Moskin
Featured in: Think Beet and Goat Cheese Salad is a Cliché? A New Recipe Proves It’s a Classic
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 8 to 10medium-large beets (see note)
- 2tablespoons minced shallots
- 3tablespoons olive oil, plus more to taste
- 2tablespoons rich, sweet vinegar like Barolo, balsamic or sherry
- Salt and ground black pepper
- ¼cup shelled nuts, like pistachios, walnuts or pecans (optional)
- 1cup loosely packed whole herb leaves (like parsley, mint or cilantro) or 2 cups small salad greens (like baby spinach, baby arugula or mâche), or use a mixture or herbs and greens
- ¼cup fresh goat cheese
- 1tablespoon olive oil
- 2tablespoons whole milk or heavy cream
- ½teaspoon rice or white wine vinegar, plus more to taste
- ½teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- ¼teaspoon salt, more to taste
For the Beets
For the Goat Cheese
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
194 calories; 13 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 381 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Prepare the beets: Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 400 degrees. Place a sheet pan underneath to catch any drips from the beets.
Step
2
Trim the greens, tops and stems from the beets. Wash thoroughly and wrap in aluminum foil packages, about 4 beets per package. Place the packages directly on the oven rack and bake until beets are easily pierced by a fork or knife, 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on size. (No need to unwrap the beets to test them.)
Step
3
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine shallots, oil, vinegar and a lavish sprinkling of salt and pepper. Set aside.
Step
4
Remove beets from oven and carefully open packages to let the steam escape. Let cool at least 20 minutes, or up to 4 hours.
Step
5
Unwrap beets and use a peeler or your fingers to remove any tough skin. Dice beets neatly into bite-size pieces. Add to bowl with shallot mixture, mix well and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours. Stir occasionally.
Step
6
Meanwhile, in a toaster oven or 350-degree oven, toast nuts until golden, about 5 minutes. If unsalted, sprinkle with salt. Let cool, then coarsely chop.
Step
7
Prepare the goat cheese: In a bowl, mix or whisk all ingredients together until smooth. Keep whipping until cheese is fluffy and soft. Taste and season with additional vinegar and salt. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Step
8
To serve, pile beets on a serving platter or individual plates. Spoon remaining dressing over the top. Spoon dollops of goat cheese mixture on and around the beets, then tuck in herbs and/or greens. Sprinkle with nuts and serve immediately.
Tip
- It's nice to use multicolored beets, but keep in mind that magenta beets will dye the others to match as soon as they are combined. The best solution is to use just a couple of colors, and marinate them separately until time to serve.
Ratings
4
out of 5
1,106
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Cooking Notes
famharris
My family adores beets and as so I cook with them often but early beets on greens is our favorite go-to. I love the combination here with the vinegar and cream in the goat cheese; I usually just use it plain. And who doesn't love pistachios? You can speed this up by peeling the beets with a potato peeler before you roast them (also lessens the stains on your fingers) and if I'm in a real time crunch I'll dice them too and that cuts the roasting time in half. Enjoy!
Lori
I am curious why others don't peel and slice the beets before roasting them. It's a bit messy, but the beets get a little caramelized, which is delicious.
A
I roast beets often and it seems that 45-60 minutes is seldom sufficient. Just my experience.
Also, I find that Kenji Lopez-Alt's advice is helpful. He suggests making a pouch of foil, tucking in the beets, olive oil and herbs, and then roasting. The results are impressive.
eileen
Did you mean 1/2 cup of goat cheese?
Kws
Trader Joe’s has remarkably good cooked, peeled beets. Vacuum packed. Just sayin
richard
recipe editors! what is a medium large beet? recipe calls for 8-10 of these which with todays supermarket produce is a truckload by weight. Even the video of the cooking of this recipe showed only four modestly sized beets.
Rita
Easier to cook the beets first and, after they cool, the skins will slide off easily.
Randy
The reason this is such a classic combination is the interplay between the earthy sweetness of the beets and the musky tartness of the goat cheese. It would be impossible to replicate the goat cheese complexity but you could come close with 4 OZ of good fresh ricotta (not the junk in supermarket tubs) and 4 TBL of good Feta with a larger dose of vinegar for the extra tang (adjusted to your taste...perhaps as much as 1 TBL) plus the other recipe ingredients. Lots of fresh ground pepper is a must.
Sandy W.
peeling and dicing the beets in advance is a real time saver - do the hard work at the front end of the project.
I baked them in foil packets for 45-60 min and they were perfectly fork ready.
As an option, I think roasting the beets and giving them a little char will add a nice flavor element.
I skipped the nuts, knowing my husband wouldn't like them.
We're a two person household, so I just used two large beets and it was enough to feed us a for dinner. Loved it!!
Jay S
Make beets frequently; tried other methods but always go back to stovetop pressure cooker. Whole beers unpeeled 20 minutes and done. Skins slip off. Never understand how peeling before is less messy with beets.
Ferguson
weights would help here. Different times of year the beets come in different sizes. Also goat cheese is much easier to weigh than measure by volume.
Scott
use plain yogurt instead of heavy cream, 10x more delicious.
Jenny
Honestly, I'd be worried about stains in case a hungry partygoer dropped one....
Bonnie
Loved this salad and especially the mix of herbs on top!! One word of warning, the Balsamic vinegar will turn the golden beets slightly dark, so if you want them to be bright orange, use only the white wine vinegar in their marinate.
yaya
Make your life 200x easier and buy precooked beets (love beets brand is perfect). They come in the package cooked and ready to slice and dice.
Holly
I recently made this but added blood oranges! Zested one of them and added to the beet marinade. Whipped the goat cheese with a nonfat Greek yogurt and a touch more orange zest. The citrus adds a much needed brightness to this dish.
ScoutMom
Don't discard the beet greens. They can be sautéed like spinach and served as a side dish for a different meal.
Susan P
The dressing is excellent! I even used it on canned beets and it made them taste so much better. Don't judge.
a
Delicious, only would suggest roughly chopping greens if not small, and put on plate first. Mint added nice touch.
Sarah
I used, gasp!, canned beets for this. For shame. The flavors are all bold enough that I didn’t think it detracted, and turns this into a weeknight wonder.
jsg
Great recipe! Have to confess that, while I followed ingredients as written, it was a hectic evening and letting them marinate for 30 minutes wasn’t possible. The beets were still warm and despite no time to marinate, it was awesome!
Toni
Add cumin
Edith L
I made this recipe twice and it is a keeper. I buy the cooked beets from the produce section and this comes together easily. Love the whipped goat cheese. A family favorite,
Delicious!
I steamed the beets, golden ones, then cooled and peeled the skins. I used extra shallots and as one reader suggested yogurt with the balsamic vinegar. This was an excellent salad.
debbie
This was amazing! Used 3 small beets steamed and peeled. Everything else as written
JH
It's really worth 5*s! Every time I make it, people ask for the recipe or to bring it to their house when we're over. BUT- it's too long to roast the beets, so I boil 2 pots- one for orange and one for red beets, skin on. Skin pushes off once their room temp and it's a lot quicker. I use 1/2 cup of goat cheese. Yum!
Teresa
I added a touch of honey to the whipped goat cheese. Delicious!
Laurel
Microwave peeled and diced beets and 1/3 cup water for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through. Cover the bowl.
Katherine
Made as written. Would like a weight on the beets (and I forgot). Steamed beets fresh out of the garden. Everything balanced perfectly - still had the earthy beet flavor underneath the marinade and the goat cheese was smooth and subtle. A keeper.
Lauren
The flavors were balanced and delicious. I followed another reviewer’s lead and pressure cooked my beets, which made it very easy to slide off the skins. If I had time to roast, I would have, and I can see how that would impart a lovely flavor as well. I will say that 8 medium/large beets is too many. If you have large beets, you could probably be fine with 6. We were struggling to eat all the leftovers.
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