When thinking through the perfect beet salad, there are a couple of things we are always looking for. First, a soft goat cheese to go with the earthy flavor of the beets. With the beets, we look for a balanced acidic but sweet vinaigrette. To top it all off, we love tons and tons of flavorful herbs scattered throughout. The herbs add a fresh, bright flavor and pair so well with the creamy goat cheese and acidic beets.
When it comes to beets, there are a lot of people who are not beet salad or even beet lovers. We felt this way, too. As kids, our mom would often take us to lunch at one of her favorite restaurants and she always ordered a salad scattered with canned beets. We always looked at that salad and swore we would never eat beets. Although our minds have changed about beets, we are still of the belief that canned beets are ones we will not bother with. But when it comes to beets that have been cooked and marinated in a blood orange vinaigrette, scattered over a bed of creamy goat cheese, and topped with tons of soft, flavorful herbs—beets easily become one of the best bites we have ever eaten.
One of our other sisters also grew up seeing Mom eat the salad with really dark red (if you can even call it red) canned beets. To this day, she remains unsure about beets. Lately in winter, when beets are at their peak, she has been enjoying marinated beets. These marinated beets will even turn skeptics into beet lovers. If you don’t love the deep red, earthy beets, you can always go for the lighter colored beets. Yellow or lighter beets are often lighter in flavor. For this salad, we combine the golden yellow beets and the red beets together to make a really beautiful salad.
Creating the beet salad
When we were coming up with this recipe, we knew we wanted to incorporate some of the classic components we look for in a beet salad. The salad starts with a bed of whipped goat cheese. The goal here is to get a really creamy layer of goat cheese. It’s super delicious because it’s goat cheese with a little bit of cream. You can’t go wrong with cream and goat cheese. This layer adds such softness and texture to the beet salad.
After we whip the goat cheese, we make marinated beets. Although we love the earthy flavor of beets on their own, they really benefit from marinating. To marinate them, we put them in a blood orange vinaigrette. The vinaigrette is scattered over the beets while they are still warm. Doing it when they are warm, allows the flavors of the vinaigrette to permeate. Once the beets are cooled, use the same vinaigrette to dress the arugula. The peppery, bright arugula goes perfectly with the acidic blood orange vinaigrette, the earthy beets, and creamy goat cheese.
To top it all off, we use fresh, soft herbs: tarragon, dill, and chives. The herbs add brightness, freshness, and flavor to the dish. Lastly, for some texture and a nutty flavor, we add pistachios. There is pretty much nothing that pistachios do not make better, especially when it comes to salads, so we add them here for a crunchy note and nutty flavor. All together, it is the perfect winter salad.
This beet salad is not your average beet salad. These beets aren’t anything like the variety that comes from the can. We describe them as bright, fresh, and unique. Since there is only one dressing in this (for both the beets and arugula) it comes together quickly and will be a staple in your house once you try it. This is the best beet salad that we have ever made. On to the details of how to create it.
How to make the beet salad:
To make the beet salad, start by whipping the goat cheese. The goat cheese should be a very creamy consistency. To accomplish this, we use a stand mixer but a hand mixer can also be used. Place the goat cheese in the base of the bowl and add the whipping cream. The cream allows the goat cheese to become a softer texture and whip up. Without the cream, the goat cheese will just crumble. To loosen the goat cheese and allow for that creamy base, it needs a little cream. The cream doesn’t add much flavor which is just perfect for the beets. We really want a nice goat cheese flavor in the base which is why we do not add cream cheese or other mixins to make it creamy.
After the goat cheese and whipping cream are added to the bowl, add a pinch of salt to balance out the richness of the cream. Then simply beat it with a whisk attachment for about 20 seconds. All that you are looking for is a creamy base to put beets on. Once the mixture is whipped, spread it on the bottom of the serving plate and place any excess in the fridge.
After the goat cheese is made, add the arugula and beets. For both of these, we use the same vinaigrette. To make the vinaigrette combine extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, blood orange juice, Dijon, salt, pepper, and a little bit of orange zest. The orange zest is our secret ingredient here. Although the blood orange juice itself adds a bright note, the orange zest really allows the freshness to come through. Simply mix all the ingredients together and that is the vinaigrette.
After making the vinaigrette, marinate the beets. Before marinating, boil and peel them. The beets can also be baked in the oven. Any method of cooking and peeling the beets will work for this recipe. Once the beets are cooked and peeled, chop them into cubes. Scatter the marinade overtop, reserving about half of the dressing for the arugula. Mix the beets and dressing together and let it sit for at least 30 minutes. The beets should be cooled and have enough time to absorb the marinade. Once the beets are ready, the rest of the salad can be assembled.
To assemble the salad, start by spreading a layer of goat cheese on a plate. Top the goat cheese with dressed arugula. Then scatter the marinated beats over the arugula. Top it all with fresh herbs—tarragon, dill and chives. Finish the dish by topping it with pistachios. We use roasted, salted pistachios and leave them pretty chunky for texture. Add some salt and pepper and serve!
It is really the best beet salad we have ever eaten. This is a bold statement because we have eaten a lot of beet salads. But when it comes to the best, this one has it all. It is a bed of soft creamy goat cheese on the bottom juxtaposed by the peppery arugula dressed in a blood orange vinaigrette. The earthy beets are marinated in the same blood orange vinaigrette and topped with soft herbs for freshness. This dish is finished off with pistachios for texture and nuttiness. It is really one of the best bites. We absolutely love this beet salad.
Notes:
- Beets: We’ve said it before but we’ll say it again unfortunately the ones from the can or even the bag, don’t do beets justice. We highly highly recommend cooking your own beets. You can double this recipe and store the cooked & marinated beets in the fridge, but we strongly recommend making them from scratch.
- Goat Cheese: When it comes to the goat cheese we were looking for a really soft layer at the bottom. Although you can just crumble the goat cheese throughout, whipping it with a little bit of cream makes this the best salad. It is a step we do not recommend skipping. It is really easy to throw cream and goat cheese into a mixer. It adds a soft and unique texture to the dish. If you don’t have any cream you can use half and half or something else to loosen it up. Trust us you’ll be glad you did this step.
- Herbs: When it comes to the herbs we like tons of them. We put herbs in just about everything. We scatter them on eggs, put them in our salads, and put them on our meat. Buy them and use extras elsewhere. These add so much flavor to any dish you make, and we really recommend putting all three if you can find them.
Beet salad with whipped goat cheese
Ingredients
Whipped goat cheese
- 4 oz goat cheese
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Beets
- 4 medium beets
Vinaigrette
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons blood orange
- 1 teaspoon dijon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
Assembly
- 1 cup arugula
- 1 tablespoon dill
- 1 tablespoon chives
- 1 teaspoon tarragon
- ¼ cup pistachios
Instructions
Whipped goat cheese:
- Whip together goat cheese, salt, and cream in mixer or with beater until smooth ~20 seconds
Beets:
- Remove stems from beets and place in a pot of boiling water. Boil until they are soft throughout. For medium beets this should take about 30 minutes (depending on the size of the beets this step can range from 20mins-1hr). The beets can also be baked in the oven at this stage.Remove the cooked beets and allow them to cool then peel the skin with your hands. Cut the beets into 1”x1/2” pieces
Vinaigrette:
- Mix together olive oil, vinegar, orange juice, Dijon, salt, pepper, and orange zest until evenly combined
Marinating beets:
- Add half of the dressing to the cooked, peeled, cubed beets. Ideally the beets are still slightly warm to absorb the flavor. Stir until combined and cover. Marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes to overnight.
Assembling the salad:
- Spread a layer of goat cheese on the plate. Add arugula and just enough dressing to lightly dress (some may remain). Top with beets, herbs, and pistachios.
Entertainer’s Note:
Make extra of the beets and enjoy them all week long!
