Toasted Goat Cheese Salad
Ingredients
2 large red beets2 large golden beets
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 cups mixed baby greens, rinsed and spun dry
1/3 cup pecan halves
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Tabasco to taste
8 ounces goat cheese
2 shallots, peeled and diced,br> Zest from 2 lemons
¼ cup flour
1 egg 1/3 cup Panko (Japanese style) breadcrumbs 1 tablespoon olive oil ½ cup red wine vinaigrette
Adapted from Atlantic Fish Co.
761 Boylston Street, Boston
atlanticfishco.com
Directions
Heat oven to 375°F. Brush cleaned fresh beets lightly with 1 tsp olive oil, place in a casserole dish, cover with foil and bake for approximately 1 1/2 hours. Once cooled, peel beets, then cut beets into medium-thick slices. Set aside.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and a few drops of Tabasco. Allow the sugar/butter mixture to melt. When it starts to bubble, add pecans and toss to coat evenly. Cook over medium heat for approximately 1 minute. Remove from pan and allow to cool on a cookie sheet lined with foil or parchment paper.
Break up goat cheese with your fingers and incorporate the diced shallots and the lemon zest into the goat cheese. Form goat cheese mixture into 4 equal sized patties.
Coat goat cheese discs with flour, then dip them into lightly beaten egg, and finally dip them into Panko bread crumbs until coated completely.
Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large sauté pan and heat over medium heat until almost smoking. Add the goat cheese discs and cook for two minutes on each side or until golden brown and crispy on the surface.
To assemble salad: In a large mixing bowl, dress the greens and the beets with red wine vinaigrette. Distribute evenly into four salad bowls and sprinkle toasted pecans over each salad. Top with the warm goat cheese discs and serve.
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