ROASTED BEET SALAD WITH SPICY MAPLE PECANS AND CHRISSY'S FRESH CHèVRE

Roasted Beet Salad with Spicy Maple Pecans and Chrissy's Fresh Chèvre image

This elegant appetizer or starter salad for a dinner party celebrates two loves: goat cheese and roasted beets. It takes more time than a simple tossed salad, but all can be done in advance for entertaining. Mixing red beets with golden and candy-striped varieties makes an especially gorgeous presentation. The CKC chèvre that I use is from Chrissy Omo, a local cheesemaking prodigy. (For more about Chrissy, see opposite page.) Although I highly recommend it, CKC cheese is hard to get outside of the Austin-Hill Country area. Support your local cheesemaker by checking out neighborhood farmers' markets.

Yield serves 8

Number Of Ingredients 27

Ingredients

6 equal-size medium beets (about
2 pounds), washed and greens trimmed (leave a stubble)
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 yellow onion, quartered
1 knob fresh ginger (with peel)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons real maple syrup
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup pecan halves
6 tablespoons reserved beet braising liquid
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 cups arugula, butter lettuce, or mixed salad greens
1 goat cheese round, about 8 ounces (more if you love goat cheese)

Steps:

TO ROAST THE BEETS: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Set the beets in a roasting pan or ovenproof casserole in a single layer. Pour in the stock, wine, brown sugar, the 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, onion, ginger, salt, and the 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil or the casserole lid. Roast the beets until they are tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour (a sharp knife will pull out easily from the center of a beet). Transfer the beets with tongs to a clean cutting board to cool. Reserve 6 tablespoons of the beet braising liquid for the vinaigrette.
Wearing clean rubber gloves to prevent red fingertips, if desired, cut off the beets' green "stubble" and skinny tails. Hold the beets under cool running water to loosen the skins, then slip off the skins with a little pressure from your fingers. Set the beets aside.
TO MAKE THE PECANS: Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and grease it with butter or cooking spray. In a frying pan set over medium heat, combine the 1 tablespoon olive oil, maple syrup, sugar, the 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, and cayenne pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer and stir in the pecan halves. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the pecans, about 10 minutes. Pour the pecans onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading evenly with a spoon. Let cool before breaking them apart.
TO MAKE THE VINAIGRETTE: Whisk together the reserved 6 tablespoons beet braising liquid, lemon juice, white wine and balsamic vinegars, rosemary, mustard, salt, black pepper, and the 1/2 cup olive oil.
TO ASSEMBLE THE SALAD: Cut the beets into bitesize pieces. Toss the beets with the salad greens in a large bowl. Divide the salad evenly among 8 salad plates. Cut the goat cheese into 8 slices and top each salad with a slice. Sprinkle with a few candied pecans and drizzle on the vinaigrette. Serve immediately.
Chrissy Omo's passion for goat cheese began at age sixteen, when her father's job took the family to Europe. It was love at first taste and Chrissy, whose pet goat had taken second place in a Future Farmers of America competition when she was fifteen, now embarked on a quest to learn to make the stuff. While still a high schooler she worked for two months at Pure Luck Farm and Dairy in Dripping Springs under its award-winning goat-cheese maker Amelia Sweethardt. "Mom wanted me to see what it was really like," says Chrissy.
Mother, father, and daughter agreed to finance the cheese business with savings from Chrissy's college fund. They invested in a small herd of goats and created a dairy on their property. When Chrissy was a senior in high school, she began selling her cheese commercially. CKC Cheese (the initials stand for Chrissy and younger brothers Kenny and Conner) is a family-run operation. Chrissy's mom, Adriana, is an experienced entrepreneur who handles the finances. Mother and daughter often do the deliveries together, bringing her handcrafted cheeses to customers throughout the Hill Country, including the Fredericksburg farmers' market, as well as to specialty stores in Austin. Chrissy's brothers help out with milking and other chores, but "no one but me touches the cheese," she says.
The goat herd has grown to more than 160 head, and Chrissy produces 300 to 400 pounds of cheese a week, from seasoned feta and baby caprino (a soft, Italian-style cheese that is aged for three weeks) to creamy fresh chèvre. Despite the expanded production, Chrissy continues to juggle her cheesemaking with schoolwork. She's on track to graduate with a degree in international business from Texas State University in San Marcos. "I love making cheese," she says. And I love eating it-especially when it comes from Chrissy's goats.
You can roast the beets ahead and refrigerate them with the reserved beet juice in a covered container for up to 2 days. The pecans can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored at room temperature in a tightly covered container. Prepare the vinaigrette up to 3 days in advance, cover, and refrigerate until needed.
When you roast beets, purchase ones that are all about the same size. That way they will be done at the same time.