MIXED GREEN SALAD WITH ROASTED BEETS, PEARS AND GOAT'S CHEESE

MIXED GREEN SALAD WITH ROASTED BEETS, PEARS AND GOAT'S CHEESE image

Yield 3-4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 11

For Salad
1/3 pound baby spinach
2 medium-sized beets
1 ripe, sweet pear (such as forelle)
1/4 cup crumbled goat's cheese
2 tablespoons roasted and crushed hazlenuts
snipped chives
a few pitted kalamata olives (optional)
Dressing:
drizzle high-quality olive oil and sherry vinegar over the salad, to taste
salt and pepper

Steps:

Roast Beets: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Individually wrap the beets in aluminum foil and roast them for 45 minutes to an hour, until they are tender when pricked with a fork. allow the beets to cool, then peel them. The peel should slip off easily. Cut the beets in half and slice thinly or use a mandolin. Cut the pear in half and remove the seeds and core. Slice the pear halves thinly lengthwise or use a mandolin. Place spinach on a wide platter, scatter the sliced beets and pears on the top, then the crumbled goat's cheese and finally the toasted hazlenuts and snipped chives. I usually add a few pitted Kalamata olives, but you don't have to. Sprinkle the salad with sherry vinegar and olive oil, salt and pepper.