I’m in charge of a couple of sides dishes this Thanksgiving and I’ve decided one of them is going to be a Thanksgiving Salad of Roasted Beets, Arugula, Goat Cheese + Pepitas. With all the dense dishes of mashed potatoes and stuffing and gravy, I love to have something lighter + green to interrupt the heaviness of the dinner plate.
What’s great about this recipe is you can roast the beets the day before and make the vinaigrette ahead so it’s just a quick assembly of ingredients on the busy cooking day of Thanksgiving.
The pepitas (pumpkin seeds) give the dish a nice crunch & introduce a festive Fall twist~
Serves about 8-10 as a side.
What you need:
2 bunches of beets, trimmed (grab red & golden if possible for a fun mix of colors)
1/3 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds, available in already roasted & salted form)
4-5 oz goat cheese (choose a good quality block & crumble fresh when assembling salad)
5-6 cups baby arugula
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, removed from the stems & minced
Homemade Vinaigrette (Plan to make a day ahead or if you’ve got a hefty menu, just pick up a bottle of your fave)
Ready, Set, Cook!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Wrap beets in foil and roast in center of the oven 1-1 1/2 hours, then unwrap and let cool before placing in a tupperware or bowl & into the fridge.
When the beets are thoroughly cooled, slip them out of their skins and cut each beet into 8 wedges (or more if they are large). (All of this can be done a day ahead.)
To serve, arrange the beets on a platter around the edge and make a mound of the baby arugula in the middle. Then drizzle the dressing lightly over the greens & a using a slightly heavier hand over the beets. Crumble the goat cheese on top of the beets and sprinkle with the fresh thyme and pepitas.
Enjoy! Happiest of Thanksgivings to you and yours!
XO,
Your Sus Chef