Beet salad with Goat cheese & Pitstachios
Beet Salad with Goat cheese & Pistachios
Beets are probably one of my favorite vegetables. They pair so well with so many different types of foods, cheeses, juices, desserts even. Their earthy and bright flavoring along with uber bright colors in a variety of shades of red, maroon, yellows and oranges make cooking almost more fun and definitely a bit of an art project.
I got these beauties at the local farmers market. Fresh always tastes best. The farmers markets that exist in summer and early fall always offer so many great in season foods to add to your table.
Time to make : 30 Minutes
3 medium or 2 Large Beets
1/4-1/3 C Goat Cheese-chilled
1/4 Pitstachios
Salt & Pepper to taste
EVOO
balsamic Vinegar
I always start by scrubbing the beets rough skin in a cool water bath and then slicing them about 1/4 in thick in round slices.
Put them in a fold out steamer, with a lid, steam the beets for about 15 minutes on medium heat. Make sure that they are not losing all their bright color (meaning they are over-done). They are ready when they can be easily pierced by a fork, but still with a slight crunch.
After removing from the heat and draining away the water, slice the beets in small cubes.
Take the goat cheese from the fridge or freezer ( getting it extra cold right before use helps the cheese crumble instead of melting in your hands). Using a fork to break apart the goat cheese over the beets in order to create crumbles.
Sprinkle with whole or chopped pistachios, salt, pepper and top with a slight bit of EVOO and balsamic vinegar. Mix and serve. This recipe should be enough for 3 people.
PARMESAN CRUSTED BRUSSELS WITH WALNUTS & BREADCRUMBS
Brussels are my favorite. They've been my favorite since I was a small child. A few years ago i started playing around with sprucing them up a little bit, mainly so i could eat them more often and in different ways.
This recipe is one of my favorites because its very simple and I generally have all the ingredients lying around.
Preheat oven to 375
- 1lb Brussel Sprouts, cleaned, halved. Keep all the extra leave that fall off in this process: they create the yummiest part (the crispy chips)
- 1/3C Bread crumbs or panko flakes.
- 1/4C Grated Parmesan cheese (cheese lovers feel free to up this amount)
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste ( For this recipe I prefer to use WHITE PEPPER)
- EVOO
Combine all of the ingredients, lightly sprinkling the EVOO over the top and mixing very well to coat each brussel. You want o get a good coat of olive oil for both flavor and to create crisp brussle sprouts that don't stick to the pan.
Spread the brussel sprouts on a baking sheet, making sure they are an even layer. Bake for roughly 20mins, or until your desired crispiness. ( I let the individual leaves get almost black and very crisp and the whole brussles to get lightly browned on the edges).
Serve with desired dipping sauce, I think any type of mustard works great with brussel sprouts, aiolis' are also nice. Or add them to tofu, rice, quinoa…...
