Hazelnut Beet Salad

Warm beets and soft cheese create a comforting dish accented by crunchy hazelnuts

This is a recipe that Laurel and I first experienced at a restaurant in New York. The warm beets melt the cheese to create a soft comforting dish accented by crunchy hazelnuts. If you can find them, choose beets that are about 1 inch in diameter. If you cannot get such small beets, use the smallest you can find and cut them into 1/2 inch cubes. I try to get beets at the farmers market. I treasure the greens as much as the beets themselves. So when you shop for them, select bunches that have the freshest green leaves and cook Pave Beet Greens as a vegetable side dish. You can roast the beets and prepare the hazelnuts, cheese, and dressing ahead of time so that all you have to do is assembly at serving time.

Ingredients

• 8 small fresh red beets, scrubbed with tops trimmed off

• 8 small fresh golden beets, scrubbed with tops trimmed off

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme sprinkled overall)

• 1 bay leaf

• 1/4 cup of whole hazelnuts, toasted in a 425 degree oven with skins roughly rubbed off

• 4 cups of mache, arrugula or spinach

• 1/4 cup of champagne or white wine vinegar

• 6 tablespoons walnut or hazelnut oil

• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1/2 cup goat cheese

• 1/4 cup ricotta cheese or creme fraise

• salt and pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In an ovenproof dish, toss the beets with the olive oil, thyme, bay leaf, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook the red and orange beets separately to preserve their color. Cover each dish with foil and roast until the beets are tender: 45 minutes to an hour. Remove and cool. Slip their skins off. If you are using small beets, cut them into halves. If using larger beets, cut them into 1/2 inch pieces.

Place the hazelnuts on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven at 350 degrees until they smell fragrant (about 10 minutes). Remove and place on a tea towel. Bundle the nuts up and move them around in the towel so that they rub against each other and shed some of their loose skins. (This is messy. I do it outdoors,) Chop the cooled nuts into coarse chunks.

Whisk together the vinegar, walnut oil, sugar, and lemon juice.

Mix the goat cheese and the ricotta cheese (or creme fraise) until smooth.

Dress the greens in half the dressing. Place them on salad plates.

Heat the beets in the oven or a microwave until they are gently warmed (NOT blazing hot) and set an assortment of red and yellow beets on the top of each plate of greens. Sprinkle with the toasted hazelnuts.

Add 4 or 5 small dollops of the fluffy cheese mixture to each plate of beets. The cheese will soften further from the warmth of the beets. Drizzle the beets and cheese with a spoonful of the remaining dressing.