Roasted Beet & Carrot Salad with Goat Cheese Vinaigrette

What's your favorite color?  Mine is pink (shocking, right?).  

When I was scrolling through the recipes on K & K Test Kitchen to choose something to make for this month's Secret Recipe Club, the gorgeous hue of this healthy salad caught my eye.  By the time I read the words "goat cheese" near the end of the post title, I was totally sold.  When I see a food that's naturally bright pink and has my favorite kind of cheese in it, I sign myself right up.

Kelsey and her mom Kim are the duo behind K & K Test Kitchen, which is a wonderful blog to check out if you're looking for healthy, family-friendly recipes that are delicious and easy to make.  When I read how much Kelsey loved this beet & carrot salad, I was convinced I had chosen the right recipe, and it did not disappoint.  It was both beautiful and delicious.  I loved the adaptations Kelsey made to Food & Wine's original recipe: she eliminated the stovetop cooking, which makes the recipe so much easier, and she added thyme, which goes really well with the sweetness of the roasted vegetables.  I, in turn, made a couple of adaptations to her version: I used sherry vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar, reduced the vinegar a bit, omitted the mustard, and added a little extra goat cheese.  In my opinion, you can never have too much goat cheese.

This was actually my first time roasting beets, and I loved it.  It's super easy, and the skins rub right off when the beets are done cooking.  The beets dye the carrots pink, and the vegetables are tossed with a simple but delicious goat cheese vinaigrette.  Thyme leaves and a little extra goat cheese on top are the perfect finishing touch for this vibrant salad.  I could not stop popping bite after bite into my mouth as I was plating the salad and taking these pictures.

I hope you try this salad, especially if you're as new to cooking with beets as I am--it really is so much fun!  Do you have a food you love to make that's your favorite color?

Roasted Beet & Carrot Salad with Goat Cheese Vinaigrette
Yield: 4 side dish servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 50-60 minutes

Ingredients (adapted from K & K Test Kitchen; originally from Food & Wine):

4 beets
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 pound carrots, peeled and chopped into 2-inch sticks
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1-2 ounces goat cheese (2-4 tablespoons), divided
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves (or 2 teaspoons fresh)

Preheat the oven to 400.  Wash the beets well, then slice off the tops and bottoms.  Place the prepared beets on a large piece of foil, drizzle with a teaspoon or so of olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Toss to coat the beets, then wrap the foil around them to form a packet.  Place the packet on a baking sheet and roast for 40-60 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a fork.  Set aside to cool.

Place the carrots on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat (or tinfoil).  Drizzle with a teaspoon or so of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.  Put the carrots in the oven when the beets have been roasting for about 20 minutes, and roast them until tender and browned around the edges (about 30 minutes).

While the vegetables are roasting, make the vinaigrette.  Whisk together the sherry vinegar and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a small bowl.  Crumble in one ounce (two tablespoons) of goat cheese, then whisk to combine.

When the beets are cool enough to handle, rub them with a paper towel (or dishcloth that you don't mind staining pink) to remove the skins.  Cut each beet in half, then slice each half into semicircles.

Toss the beets and carrots in a large bowl with the vinaigrette and thyme leaves.  Sprinkle with the remaining goat cheese, if desired, and serve warm.

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