Garden Greens Salad with Beets and Goat Cheese

By mid-May in the Edible Garden we were knee deep in beets and lettuce.  Garden Chef Megan McCarthy was inspired to harvest these vegetables and prepare a fresh salad.  I'm not sure if fresh is a strong enough word to describe the process of plant to plate within one hour and a hundred feet of each other. 

Bulls Blood Beets with Deja Vu Calendula

Australian Yellow Leaf Lettuce

Red Velvet Lettuce nestled between Cardoon and Zefa Fino Fennel

Garden Greens Salad with Beets and Goat Cheese

6 cups Garden lettuce, chopped

1 beet, boiled and finely diced

1 cup shredded carrots

½ cup crumbled goat cheese

½ cup toasted walnuts

Toasted Walnut Vinaigrette:

3 tbsp toasted walnut oil

2 tbsp fig vinegar
½ lemon, freshly squeezed
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut off the beet tops about an inch above the beet. In a large pot cover the beets with three inches of cold water and bring to a boil.  Cover and boil over medium heat until tender, about 45 minutes.  Drain the beets under cool running water. Take off skins. Trim off stems and root ends and slice.

Whisk vinaigrette ingredients together and drizzle on lettuce greens and toss. Top dressed greens with beets, carrots, goat cheese and toasted walnuts.

Find printable versions of the Garden Chef recipes here.