Asparagus, Beet, and Goat Cheese Salad

Yesterday evening I attended to a barbecue hosted by a wonderful Smith professor. Along with the typical hotdogs, beef burgers, and veggie burgers, our hosts provided a spinach salad with mandarin slices, strawberries, pines nuts and a light honey dressing and a pasta salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, and mozzarella. There were at least five different desserts (six including s’mores). My friend and I brought guacamole, which was mostly eaten with chips, but also put on top of burgers and even a cheese hotdog. Let’s just say we had quite the smorgasbord. One of the dishes that I really enjoyed was the spring asparagus, beet, and goat cheese salad by friend Katie prepared. I was unfortunately too wrapped up in the moment to take a picture of the food.

Below is a recipe I found online that seems fairly similar Katie’s recipe (there were no candied pecans in the Katie’s dish). With the addition of the nuts, I would say that this dish could even be the main entree.

http://www.milkglasskitchen.com/asparagus-beet-and-goat-cheese-salad/

Salad

4 large beets (or 6 medium or 8 small)

1 lb asparagus

½ small onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp minced flat leaf parsley

1 ½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

•  Peel beets and chop into 1-inch cubes, steam beets for 12-15 minutes or until tender. Set aside to cool.
• Cut asparagus into 1-inch pieces. Steam asparagus for 6-8 minutes or until tender. Set aside to cool.
•  Place cooled beets and asparagus, onion, and parsley together in a large boil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to combine.

Candied Nuts

2/3 cup chopped pecans (or any nut you’d like)

¼ cup maple syrup

•  Set a skillet over medium-low heat for 3-5 minutes. Turn heat down to low and add chopped nuts. Toasts nuts for about 4-5 minutes or until you notice the nuts turning golden brown and just begin to smell a nutty aroma.
•  Remove nuts from heat immediately and add maple syrup in a slow, steady stream. Syrup will bubble and boil briefly, so be prepared.  Stir nuts for several minutes allowing the heat to reduce the syrup. Turn syrup-coated nuts out onto a sheet of parchment paper or buttered aluminum foil and set aside to cool.   

To Dress Salad

3 tbs cream of balsamic (the website recommends using berry fusion flavored balsamic dressing)

¼ cup olive oil

Squeeze of lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

4 oz. goat cheese (chilled)

• Drizzle vegetables with cream of balsamic, olive oil, and lemon juice. Toss to coat. Salt and pepper to taste. Using the tines of a small fork, scrape the surface of the log of goat cheese over the plated salad to create crumbles. Finish your dish with a few candied nuts.