We live near a great Irish restaurant called The Old Brogue that has the most amazing beet salad! Being someone who has always loved beets, it calls my name often, so I decided to figure out how to make it at home. Mixed greens are topped with beet slices and red onions soaked in the most amazing honey balsamic dressing, as well as candied pecans and goat cheese..... then drizzle it all with more dressing. The perfect summer salad!
Beet Salad with Honey Balsamic Dressing
Serves 6
Salad:
1 can sliced beets, drained
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
1 bag mixed greens
1 cup chopped candied pecans (see instructions below)
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
Honey Balsamic Dressing:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Prepare the dressing by whisking together all the ingredients. In a bowl, place the sliced beets and sliced red onion. Drizzle with about 1/2 cup dressing and toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes to allow the flavor to absorb. To make the candied pecans, in a small saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter and 1/4 cup sugar, then add nuts and stir to coat. Pour out onto parchment paper to cool, then break up into bite-sized pieces.
Fill a platter with mixed greens. Top with marinated beets and onions, feta cheese, and candied pecans. When serving, drizzle with more dressing.
Step-by-step tutorial:
Gather your salad ingredients. You will need a bag of mixed greens, whatever are your favorite! You can use baby spinach, a spring mix, whatever greens you like. You also need a can of sliced beets, a red onion, some crumbled feta cheese, and a cup of chopped pecans.
For the dressing, you will need balsamic vinegar, vegetable oil, olive oil, honey, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper. Prepare the dressing by whisking all ingredients together until smooth and combined. I use my Ninja blender and it makes a light brown dressing, but completely emulsifies the vinegar with the oil. You can simply whisk it, then re-whisk right before using.
Thinly slice 1/2 of a red onion.
Place the sliced beets and onions into a bowl and cover with about 1/2 cup dressing. Toss to coat and allow this to sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes to absorb the flavor. It also softens up the onions and takes away the bite they may have.
To candy your pecans, add 1 tablespoon butter and 1/4 cup sugar to a small skillet. Over medium low heat, melt the butter and sugar together until liquid, then add the pecans and stir quickly to coat. You may need to put a lid on and remelt the sugar after adding the nuts if it hardens up to quickly.
Pour the nuts onto parchment paper to cool, then break up into bite-sized pieces.
To prepare the salad, cover a platter with the greens, then top with the beets and onions, feta cheese, and nuts.
It's such a beautiful salad with all the colors! When you serve it, drizzle with additional dressing.
It's restaurant quality salad you can easily make at home! The dressing is so delicious, especially using our raw honey from our beehives. I hope you will try this salad and enjoy it as much as we do!
Recipe Source: Recipe from Shanna's recipe box