Roasted Beet salad with Goat Cheese

I am fully willing to admit that this is hardly even a recipe, but more of an idea. But, it is a good idea. This is one of my favorite things to make for a post-farmer's market lunch or early dinner, sitting on the patio, and as the weather starts to warm and asparagus is showing up in barrels, I have started dreaming of the farmer's market. (If you are in warmer climes, perhaps they have already started in your neck of the woods!) Whatever looks beautiful sitting on the tables at the market will look beautiful together in the salad: beets, with a mixture of golden, red, chiogga (with the lovely deep pink and white concentric circles), green and yellow wax beans, cherry or grape tomatoes, and any other tempting veggies. These all get the heft of a meal with the addition of slices of chevre and caramelized walnuts. I have included instructions for the main idea - beets, chevre, and walnuts - and feel free to improvise with the remaining ingredients. The instructions for the beets comes from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food. For a dressing, my honest favorite is one that Claudine posted a while ago, with champagne vinegar, mustard and maple syrup. A link to it is here.


For the Beets:
Trim the greens from:
1 lb. beets (red, chiogga, golden or white)
Wash thoroughly. Put them in a baking dish with a little water (enough to cover the bottom of the dish to a depth of 1/8 inch) and sprinkle with salt. Cover tightly and bake the beets in 350 degree oven until they can be easily pierced with a sharp knife, 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on their size. Uncover and cool. Cut off the tops and roots and slice off the skins. Cut the peeled beets into small wedges, and sprinkle with:
1 teaspoon vinegar (champagne, if you are using the dressing)
Salt
Let stand for a few minutes to allow the beets to absorb the flavor. Taste and add more salt or vinegar, and then toss with:
1-2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Set aside in the fridge until ready to assemble the salad. Can be made 1 day ahead.

For the Veggies:
Slice the ends off of
1 lb green, yellow wax beans, or a mixture thereof
and wash thoroughly. Steam gently in a steamer for just 2 minutes, checking to be sure that the beans remain crisp. Remove from the heat, and place in a bowl with ice and water until ready to add to the salad.

Wash thoroughly and slice in half
1/2 lb cherry or grape tomatoes
Set aside.

For the Chevre:
Try to look for some local goat cheese; here in CO we have an amazing local cheese called Haystack Mountain that has a booth at the farmer's market and also sells at the Whole Foods. Look for a smallish log of chevre, and remove the plastic outer. And - here is the revolutionary idea my husband passed along to me - cut the chevere into small rounds using floss. This works remarkably well, not unlike a wire cutter for clay. Set these aside as well.

For the Walnuts:
In a small saucepan, place
3/4 cup sugar
over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar melts and liquefies. Add
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped coarsly
Stir the walnuts into the melted sugar with a wooden spoon until covered. Continue to stir with the pan on medium heat as the sugar begins to caramelize and turn a golden brown. When the sugar smokes, pick the pan up off the heat and continue to stir; when the smoke has subsided, return to the heat. Continue in this way, keeping the sugar just below smoking, until the sugar is a deep caramel, and the walnuts are well toasted. This will only take a few minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat, and spoon the walnut mixture onto a sheet of wax paper or parchment, spreading the walnuts and separating them with a spoon. Sprinkle with salt, and let cool. Once cool, break apart any large clumps of walnuts.

To assemble:
Place
1 lb. spring greens
in a large bowl; any fun mixture is good. Add the veggies and some of the salad dressing (start with a little and then taste) and toss.

Place a mound of greens and veggies in each bowl. Top with beet slices, chevre, and walnuts. For a dinner, serve with large slices of artisan bread.