Roasted beets paired with creamy goat cheese and a tangy dressing, served on a bed of greens. A couple of months ago I discovered the documentaries on Netflix and I have to say that many of them are fantastic. I watch a variety of these documentaries, often related to food. One of the (non-food) movies I highly recommend is called “The Summit” and it explores what went wrong during a climb up K2. Many people lost their lives during that climb, and many others are still trying to process everything that happened there. That day in August is considered one of the worst in mountain climbing history. Check it out!

Another movie that I watched twice is called “Spinning plates.” Have you seen it? I loved it. It’s a documentary about three completely different restaurants, three different chefs, their backgrounds, their approaches to cooking and their goals. The restaurants are a world famous recipient of 3 Michelin stars (Alinea in Chicago), a family operated restaurant in Iowa that is still standing thanks to an outpouring of love and support from the community, and a small, struggling Mexican restaurant in Arizona. The dishes that chef Grant Achatz from Alinea creates using chemistry and physics are simply mind blowing. You get to see the full meaning of the term “Molecular Gastronomy.” This place is definitely on my bucket list. Next time, when you are sitting on a couch trying to decide what to watch, take a look at either one of these movies. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

Today’s recipe is easy to make since I was a bit under the weather recently and particularly wanted to keep it simple. Here we have a tasty recipe where roasted golden beets with their sweet taste are combined with rich and creamy goat cheese and balanced by a tangy dressing. Everything is served on a bed of mixed greens. Sounds pretty yummy to me!

Roasting the beets requires some time, but you will be rewarded by their sweetness as roasting brings out the flavor of many vegetables. Here I’m using golden beets but any kind works well. This time of year, when beets are still pretty young, the roasting time will be pretty short, about 30 minutes or so. Later in the year it may take up to 1 hour. Set the oven to 400 degrees, wash the beets well, chop off the greens and place the beets into an oven safe container with a lid. Prick each beet with a fork a few times and add about 1 inch of water into the container. Cover and place in the oven. Check the softness after about 30 minutes, the knife should easily go through the beet. Roast longer if needed. Remove from the oven and cool them down.

While the beets are cooling, prepare the dressing. Finely chop a small shallot and combine it with 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar. Slowly whisk in about 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Adjust the seasonings.

Place a handful of mixed greens on an individual plates. Peel and chop the beets. Place them on top of the greens, sprinkle a bit of the goat cheese and pour some of the dressing. Add some pine nuts or sunflower seeds for an extra crunch. Serve immediately.

Serves: 4    Prep time: 15 minutes     Ready in: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3-4 small/medium beets, washed, trimmed
• a small bag of mixed greens (or just one kind)
• 4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
• 1-2 tablespoons pine nuts

Dressing:

• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash, trim and prick the beets with a fork. Place in an oven safe container with a lid. Add about 1 inch of water. Cover and roast until the beets are soft, about 35-60 minutes ( depending on their size and age). Remove from the oven and cool down.
2. Prepare the dressing by whisking together finely chopped shallot, apple cider vinegar, salt, sugar, pepper and olive oil.
3. Peel the beets and chop them. Place the greens on individual plates, add the beets and goat cheese. Sprinkle the pine nuts. Pour the dressing and serve.

Enjoy!