Beet, Citrus, and Whipped Goat Cheese Salad

If you decide to make a more traditional, leafy salad, then you will need to do several things:

1. Cut the beets into smaller pieces or sticks (after roasting and before adding them to the marinade).
2. Cut wedges (citrus supremes, see next FAQ) out of the oranges and grapefruit instead of slices.
3. Add 8-10oz (227-284g) of “Spring Mix” salad to your ingredient list.
4. Make a quick dressing (mixing olive oil and white balsamic at a 1:1 ratio) instead of just drizzling white balsamic on top. (Roughly 1-2tbsp or 15-30ml of each ingredient.)
5. Skip making the whipped goat cheese, and instead crumble cold goat cheese over the salad along with the pistachios, after it’s assembled.

For citrus supremes, cut off the top and bottom of the oranges and grapefruit, to make a flat/stable surface for cutting and easy access to the meat of the fruit. Now, slide your knife from top to bottom, curving with the fruit, in between the flesh and the white pith. Rotate the fruit as you cut, until all of the peel is gone. Once you’ve fully cut away the peel, use your knife to slice a wheel or cut out a wedge of fruit (or supreme) from in between the white-lines (membranes). Repeat the process until you have all the citrus wedges you need.

Make yourself some roasted pistachios while the cheeses are coming to temperature. To do this, preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Then, spread the pistachios out on a baking tray. Toast them in the oven for 10-15 minutes, moving them around at least once. When done, pour them onto a separate plate or tray to cool. Once cooled, you can chop them to whatever size you desire for a salad topping.

Sure! Other nuts, seeds, and random crispy toppings can top this marinated beet and citrus salad to suit your tastes. Just consider which version of the salad you intend to make before choosing the topping.

I recommend also trying toasted pecans, walnuts, or pinenuts. Pepitas or sunflower seeds can also work here. And, lastly, we can’t forget the power of a crouton or even crispy shallots.

Yes, here are some possible substitutes.

– If you plan to swap out the marscapone, créme fraîche (a little more sour) or cream cheese (less neutral of a flavor) can be acceptable substitutes.

– Goat cheese is a bit more difficult to swap, but ricotta (mild and spreadable), farmer’s cheese (mild, slightly salty, and crumbly), or Australian-style marinated feta (salty and creamy) could work in this application as well.

So, this recipe calls for plain goat cheese, but fruit flavored goat cheeses are very welcome. I’ve seen honey, lemon, yuzu, blueberry, etc that can all be swapped.

I do need to make two quick notes. If you use a citrus goat cheese, leave out the lemon zest. And if you use a honey goat cheese, leave out the honey. Enjoy!

Much like potatoes, beets can be checked with a fork or knife. You should be able to slide a knife through the flesh of the cooked beet without resistence.

– Beets: For the beets, look for beets with the tops still attached. The beet leaves will tell you a lot about how fresh the beets are. If they are still crisp with little breakage, that’s a good start. The beets themselves should be firm and not have any sponginess when you press into them.

– Citrus: The oranges and grapefruits shouldn’t be bruised or soft either. The pith should have a nice firmness. Grapefruits should have noticeable pink spots. Color is less important in oranges. (Typically the perfect oranges you see on the shelves are artificially dyed to be that way.) Lastly, citrus should be heavier than it looks. If you pick up an orange or grapefruit and it feels almost like the outside is cork, that means the pith is very thick and it’s likely less ripe. You might need to buy extra to have enough for the recipe.

– Leafy Greens: The obvious response here is look for fresh crisp green leaves. Avoid packaging with lightening of the leaves from green to yellow and any wilting. Also stay away from containers with lots of moisture present and pieces of roughage sticking to each other. They are past their prime. If you grow your own greens, even better!

If you are making this salad when citrus is out of season, there is a good chance the marinade won’t be as sweet. You can fix this by adding more agave, to taste. For reference, you are looking for a tangy (vinegar), salty (kosher salt) marinade that has a sweet edge, but is not cloying. Almost like a salty drinking vinegar, if you’ve ever tried that.