I was in charge of making dinner for our family of four (myself, Scott, and my parents) for Father's Day this year, so I planned a big meal of salmon, sweet potatoes, cauliflower rice, and a big salad.
While I was at Whole Foods grabbing ingredients for dinner, I scanned the cheese section to see if anything might catch my eye, and a log of honey goat cheese did – I mean, how could it not?! I immediately remembered I had baby arugula and a bunch of other greens in the fridge, as well as dried cherries and pine nuts, so I grabbed some beets to round out the salad I had imagined – I like mixing sweet flavors with bitter lettuces, it's really yummy.
This beet goat cheese salad is very quick and easy to put together but is impressive in its color and presentation. The contrast of the bright greens of the lettuces with the rich reds of the beets and the white of the goat cheese make it a real treat for the eyes.
Without the goat cheese this salad would be strictly paleo friendly, so omit it if you like, or replace it with avocado for some extra creaminess and fat.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
for the salad:
- 4 cups organic mixed greens
- 2 cups arugula or baby arugula
- 1/2 cup sliced beets (I used 2 small Love Beets)
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
- 1/3 cup goat cheese, broken into pieces (I used a honey goat cheese I found at Whole Foods)
- 1/3 cup dried cherries
for the Balsamic Pomegranate Dressing:
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2/3 cup EVOO
- 1 teaspoon gluten-free Dijon mustard (I used Annie's)
- 1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses (I used Al Wadi brand)
- sea salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
for the salad:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, toss to combine.
for the dressing:
Whisk thoroughly to combine.
Notes
You could also make this using walnuts or any other nuts in place of the pine nuts and dried cranberries or raisins in place of the cherries.