Beet Goat Cheese Cherry Salad

There’s so much good stuff going on in this Beet Goat Cheese Cherry Salad I don’t know where to begin! We have golden, spiralized beets, crispy panko coated goat cheese, sweet cherries sitting on a bed of arugula and topped with a delicious cherry balsamic reduction and sliced almonds. Such an incredibly delicious combination.

I used golden beets since I thought the color would be prettier with this salad.  Not to mention they are way less messy and don’t stain your fingers like the red ones do!  If you haven’t jumped on the spiralizing band wagon yet, what are you waiting for?

I can’t decide what I like best about this beet goat cheese cherry salad but it might just be the panko crusted goat cheese. At first I was going to just crumble some goat cheese over the salad but I wanted to up my game for a change.  So happy I did.  I absolutely LOVED the crusty, warm goat cheese!!!

I typically don’t like a lot of dressing on my salads and this time I opted to make a cherry balsamic reduction instead of a vinaigrette.  I loved the simple balsamic glaze on my beet peach & goat cheese salad (and this salad is similar) so I knew a cherry balsamic reduction would be really tasty here. If you prefer a vinaigrette, just make a simple oil and vinegar dressing with the cherry balsamic reduction.

Nothing better than summer cherries, right?  I used bing cherries but feel free to substitute Rainier cherries if you like.  I think you’ll really love the fresh cherries in this salad.  The only sort of pain in the ass thing about this salad is pitting the cherries.  I bought this cherry pitter and it certainly made the job go faster than pitting one at a time!

This Beet Goat Cheese Cherry Salad makes a delicious main dish, vegetarian meal.  Enjoy!

Beet, Goat Cheese & Cherry Salad

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• Yield: 2 1x

Ingredients

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• 2 C. arugula
• 2 golden beets
• 1 C. cherries, pitted, sliced in half (use more cherries if you want)
• 1 C. balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbls. brown sugar
• 6 slices goat cheese (buy a “log” of goat cheese, not crumbled. Honey goat cheese would be good too)
• 2 egg whites
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs (you could substitute regular bread crumbs)
• oil for frying goat cheese
• 1/4 C. sliced almonds
• Garnish with some chopped mint, if desired

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Instructions

1. Make the cherry balsamic reduction: In small saucepan, add balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and 1/2 cup of pitted, sliced cherries (reserve remaining cherries for topping). Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until mixture has reduced and cherries are soft. Pour mixture into blender and puree. Set aside to cool (store leftover in refrigerator).
2. Prepare the beets: Preheat oven to 425° Peel the beets and slice them with a spiralizer (I use the thinnest noodle blade). You can dice them if you don’t want the noodle shape. Toss with a little olive oil, salt & pepper and roast in oven about 5-10 minutes. Time will vary depending on your oven and size/shape of beets. You just want them to be tender, not mushy. You could also briefly sauté them in a pan if you don’t want to roast them. Set aside (I like to keep them warm).
3. Make the goat cheese: Slice a log of goat cheese into thick slices (dental floss works well to slice with). In small bowl, whisk the egg whites with about a tablespoon of water. Put panko in separate bowl. Dip each slice of goat cheese in egg whites, then coat completely in the panko crumbs. Chill in refrigerator about 15 minutes so the cheese is cold. Heat some olive oil to coat the bottom of a skillet. Fry the goat cheese until golden on each side.
4. Plate the salad: Put a cup of arugula on each plate, then some warm beets. Top with warm goat cheese slices, reserved cherries and sliced almonds. Drizzle cherry balsamic glaze over top. Garnish with chopped mint, if desired.