Summer weather doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a warm salad, and there’s no excuse for never having tried beets. This salad uses warm roasted beets soaked in vinaigrette, and pairs it with arugula, goat cheese, and walnuts for a variety of textures and flavors.
To go with the salad are cilantro shrimp tacos with Sriracha lime rice, a spicy but refreshing main course (if you consider this salad a side) that is great to have your guests DIY at a party, or easy to bring along in a few containers for a picnic.
Warm Beet and Goat Cheese Salad
Ingredients:
- 8 medium-sized beets
- ½ cup of olive oil
- ¼ cup of balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon mint, minced
- 5 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
- ½ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
- 6 ounces of baby arugula
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Wrap each beet individually in foil and place on sheet pan.
- Put beets into preheated oven and cook for for 40-45 minutes.
- Let beets cool for 5-10 minutes before peeling.
- Whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, mint and salt and pepper, to taste.
- Cut beets in half, then each half into 4 pieces. Pour a little of the vinaigrette onto each bit while they are still warm.
- Put arugula into a large bowl. Top with beets, vinaigrette, goat cheese and walnuts and combine.
Cilantro Shrimp Tacos with Sriracha-Lime Rice
Feeds: 6
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds of raw shrimp, deveined
- 1 ½ cup of white rice
- 12-18 hard taco shells
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons of cilantro, minced
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1 lime, zested
- ¼ to ½ cup of lemon juice (by preference)
- ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ stick of butter
- Small container of sour cream
- 2 avocados
- ½ small red onion
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Lemon Cilantro Shrimp
- Melt butter in a large pan over medium-high heat.
- Add garlic to pan and cook for no longer than 1 minute.
- Add shrimp to pan in a single layer, so that each shrimp can be easily flipped over. Cook for about 2 minutes per side, until shrimp are pink but not completely curled, seasoning each side with salt and pepper.
- With the heat off, add cilantro, lemon zest, juice, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Sriracha Lime Rice
- Combine 1½ cups white rice with 3 cups water in medium sized sauce pan over high heat. Bring to boil and lower heat to low.
- Allow to simmer for 12-15 minutes, until water is evaporated and rice is dry.
- Add 1 tsp. Sriracha sauce and lime zest.
To assemble:
- Take meat out of ripe avocados and crush with a fork. Mix avocado with juice of one lemon to prevent browning.
- Fill taco shells with rice, shrimp, and top with guacamole and sour cream.
- Enjoy!
With this tasty dish, you’re sure to learn to love beets!
All images courtesy of Josh Guirguis
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