Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese Mousse and Ginger Vinaigrette

Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese Mousse and Ginger Vinaigrette

Hey guys, it’s restaurant remake time! Beet salad style.

Tender, juicy, perfectly roasted beets paired with creamy decadent goat cheese mousse. Sure, this isn’t a new idea, it’s a pretty classic pairing. And boy is it good.

Sometimes you shouldn’t try to fix what isn’t broke!

I had, quite possibly, the BEST-EVER beet salad at one of our favorite restaurants recently and I knew I wanted to remake it at home and share it with you guys. Bastille is a French restaurant that always does their veggie dishes right. The menu changes seasonally, so there’s plenty of reasons for us to frequent this lovely operation. It doesn’t hurt that they grow a lot of their produce on their rooftop. Yes, you heard that right. On their rooftop! It’s a thing. And it’s awesome. Can you get any more locally-sourced than that? I think not.

Anyway, if you’re ever in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, I highly highly recommend you go there and get some awesome salads (and frites!) and a delicious glass of French wine.

Back to the main feature though – this amazingly pretty and perfectly balanced Roasted Beet Salad.

Roasted Beets

I used a simple (REALLY SIMPLE) technique to roast the beets, originally found here: Thank you, Martha. It’s quite foolproof, they come out perfectly every time.

Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese Mousse and Ginger Vinaigrette

Just look at those juicy babies! Oh, I should mention, you probably don’t want to be wearing anything white if you’re planning on making beets. You’ve been warned!

Goat Cheese Mousse

The star of the show for the salad we had at Bastille was a goat cheese mousse they dolloped on top of the plate. OMG it was good. It was so rich and creamy, and just perfect. For my at-home version, I paired room temperature goat cheese with some coconut cream. Whip it all together in a large bowl with a hand mixer and you’ve got yourself something truly special. Just a tiny bit more special than simple goat cheese. You need to try this.

Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese Mousse and Ginger Vinaigrette

Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese Mousse and Ginger Vinaigrette

Ginger Vinaigrette

This vinaigrette is A-mazing with a capital A. It’s so freakin’ easy, too! I was already planning on adding grapefruit segments to the salad for a tangy tart bite, and this was the perfect way to use the extra juice – let nothing go to waste! That plus freshly grated ginger really makes this dressing a special one. Add a touch of honey for sweetness and a little extra rice vinegar to balance it all out, then whisk in some olive oil until it’s all emulsified and, just, yum.

I hope you all enjoy this salad as much as we do! It’s really a special treat if you’re looking for something creative to do with the last of your beets for season.

Happy cooking and happy eating!

Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese Mousse and Ginger Vinaigrette

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese Mousse and Ginger Vinaigrette

Tender roasted beets, creamy goat cheese mousse and tart grapefruit wedges give this salad its unique charm. Pair it with some thick country bread to soak up the delicious Ginger Vinaigrette and a glass of your favorite red wine. Enjoy!

Ingredients

    For the beets:
  • 1 lb beets (about 5 small to medium)
  • olive oil
  • For the goat cheese mousse:
  • (Yields 1/2 cup)
  • 4 oz goat cheese, at room temperature
  • 3 tbsp coconut cream, from full fat canned coconut milk
  • For the Ginger Vinaigrette:
  • (Yields 1/2-3/4 cup)
  • Juice from 1 large grapefruit (after wedges are removed)
  • 1 tbsp + 1 tsp honey
  • 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • For the salad:
  • 1 large grapefruit, wedges removed and pulp/juice reserved
  • 1/4 cup whole roasted salted pistachios
  • 1/4 cup chopped chives or green onions
  • sea salt
  • pepper

Instructions

  1. PREP: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Peel and cut beets into half-inch wedges. Peel and segment grapefruit into wedges. Squeeze remaining juice from pulp into small bowl and reserve. Chop chives. Peel and grate ginger.
  2. ROAST: Place beets onto a large piece of foil on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Close foil around beets and crimp edges to seal into a package. Roast until beets are tender, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and open package to cool slightly.
  3. MAKE GINGER VINAIGRETTE: Add honey, ginger, rice vinegar and olive oil to the bowl with the reserved grapefruit juice. Whisk until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. MAKE GOAT CHEESE MOUSSE: Place room temp goat cheese and coconut cream into a large bowl. With a hand mixer, whisk the mixture until smooth and creamy. Alternately, you can do this step by hand using a regular whisk. Season with a pinch of salt.
  5. ASSEMBLE: Toss beets, grapefruit wedges and half the chives with 1/4 cup of Ginger Vinaigrette. Portion evenly onto 4 plates. Top each plate with pistachios, remaining chives and more vinaigrette. Place a spoonful of Goat Cheese Mousse over the veggies. Finish with fresh cracked black pepper and a sprinkle of sea salt.
https://kaleandcompass.com/roasted-beet-salad-with-goat-cheese-mousse-and-ginger-vinaigrette/

Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese Mousse and Ginger Vinaigrette