Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese Medallions and Fig Vinaigrette

This is a mix of two really good salads I had.  The first one is a warm eggplant salad that Carrabas has- that's where I got the goat cheese medallion idea from.  The second one was a warm roasted beet salad I had at Victoria's Gastro Pub.  So I thought I'd combine the two salads and came up with this one.  Just a warning, since this is a warm salad, it requires a bit of timing and pre-planning/preparation so that everything is still warm when it's served.

Ingredients

16 oz bag of mixed salad greens (I use the Spring Mix)

1 carrot, grated

1/4 small onion, sliced thin

1/4 cup pomegranates

1/4 cup walnuts, in pieces

3" cucumber, peeled and sliced thin

2 radishes, sliced thin

2 large beets, roasted (see below for recipe)

goat cheese medallions (see below for recipe)

Fig vinaigrette (see below for recipe)

Directions

1.  Toss the salad greens, carrot, onions, pomegranates, walnuts, cucumbers, and radishes until mixed well.  Arrange in serving dish.

2.  Broil the beets (Step 4 below) and toast the goat cheese medallions (Step 4 below) at the same time so both are done at roughly the same time.

3.  Arrange the broiled beets around the outside of the salad and place the medallions on top.

4.  Drizzle with fig vinaigrette and serve immediately!

Fig Vinaigrette- Ingredients

5 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp fig vinegar

1/2 tsp salt (or to your taste)

1/4 tsp pepper

Fig Vinaigrette- Directions

1.  In a small glass bottle, mix all the ingredients and shake vigorously.  Store in fridge until ready to use.

Roasted Beets- Ingredients

2 large beets

cooking spray or oil

salt

Roasted Beets- Directions

1.  Cut the stems from the beets and wash well (do not peel).  Rub oil on the skin and sprinkle with salt.  Wrap each beet individually in two layers of foil and place on a cookie sheet.

2.  Bake in preheated oven at 400 F for 1.5 hours.

3.  Remove from oven and unwrap foil.  After about 20 minutes, when it's cool to touch, peel off the skin.  Slice into 1/4 - 1/2 inch slices.

4.  10 minutes before serving-  place the slices in a single layer on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with salt and broil on the top shelf for 7 minutes.  If you want, you can cut the slices in half when they are done to make it easier to arrange in the finished salad.

Goat Cheese Medallions- Ingredients

6 oz chevre cheese

1 cup whole macadamia nuts (or you can use hazelnuts)

1/4 tsp salt

Directions

1.  Lightly roast the nuts-  Place them in a single row on a cookie sheet at bake them at 300 F for 5-7 minutes (till very light brown).

2.  Blend the nuts with salt until they are a powder with few coarse pieces remaining.

3.  Make small balls of cheese (~1/2 tbsp) from the chevre.  Roll the balls in the nut powder and flatten slightly.  Make sure all the cheese is covered with nuts, otherwise it will leak out when you heat them.

4.  Place in a single layer on a toaster tray.  Toast on medium until the nuts turn golden brown (~3 minutes in my toaster).  Let cool for 1 minute before handling.