Beet Salad with Marinated Onions & Goat Cheese

Beets. The first time I tried a beet was probably in my mid twenties. Not really sure if I was going to love or hate them, I took my first bite and discovered that beets are delicious. Not only are they tasty, they are so good for you. Having a high concentration of vitamins and minerals, beets are great way to get a does of vitamin C, folate, iron, and magnesium. So, add that to a healthy dose of kale, and you have yourself a rather nutritious salad.

Wanting some creaminess and a bit of a bite, I thought goat cheese and onions would be good additions to the beets and kale. Since the kale is basically raw, I didn’t want to use raw onions as well. I remembered a recipe for a Greek salad that used marinated onions and thought those would be a way to have the bite and the acid to help tie everything together.

Beet Salad with Marinated Red Onion & Goat Cheese

Serves 4 for as a side dish

4 medium size beets, any kind
1 medium red onion
2 c of kale
4 oz of goat cheese
Red Wine Vinegar OR White Wine Vinegar
1 tbsp Herbs de Provence, Thyme, OR Italian Herb blend
Salt
Pepper

First, pickle the onion at least 4 hours, up to 24 hours. Cut the onion into eights, and place in a canning jar. Add herbs to jar and cover by about an inch with the vinegar. Cover and let sit until ready to use. Do not refrigerate. When ready to use, remove the onions and save the vinegar for the vinaigrette.

Pre-heat oven to 400, and wrap beets in foil. Bake for 40 minutes to an hour depending on size of beets.

While beets are cooking, make the dressing. Take about half the liquid from the onions and put in a separate bowl. Slowly drizzle olive oil in the vinegar, and begin to whisk. Once the dressing starts to come together, season with salt and pepper, and set aside. Next, prep the kale by removing the leaves from the steams,and roughly chop. Place kale in a large bowl and toss with about half of the dressing. Let sit for about 20-30 minutes, so the vinaigrette starts to soften the kale leaves.

Once the beets are cool enough to handle, remove the skins, and slice in about 1 1/2″ rounds.

To serve, layer the kale, then beats, and onions, top with goat cheese and more dressing if you prefer. Or, chop the beets into 1″ chunks, and toss with kale, onions, and goat cheese. Enjoy either way!