Chopped Beets, Candied Pecans and Goat Cheese Salad

I roasted a lot of beets in January. And I still have some hanging around. This was intentional. One strategy that makes home cooking more relaxing in the long run is to prepare several recipes that require an overlapping labor intensive ingredient. So rather than roasting beets every week, I roasted a large quantity of beets and made several beet friendly meals. Go assemblage cooking! If you need a reminder on how to roast beets, check out the Golden Beet Bruschetta recipe.

4 cups arugula or your favorite green leaf
1 cup chopped roasted beets
2 ounces goat cheese
salt and pepper

½ cup pecan halves or pieces.
2 tablespoons maple syrup
¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper

1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil

To make candied pecans: Preheat over to 425°. Coat pecans in the maple syrup and the salt and pepper on a cookie sheet. Spread them out so they’re not too close together. Toast in the oven for 5 minutes. Stir and Toast for another 5 minutes. All the moisture should evaporate and the nuts should be glossy. Remove and cool. Break apart with your hands.

Toss greens with another ¼ teaspoon of salt and pepper. Crumble the goat cheese over the top. Scatter the beets over the top. Scatter candied pecans over the top.

Sprinkle the oil and vinegar over the salad and toss well. This serves two. I always make about 2 cups of the nuts at a time (with 8 tablespoons of maple syrup) and store them in an airtight bag or container. Then I can make this salad in five minutes tops on a weeknight. Enjoy this quick, easy and healthy meal.