Beet and Whipped Goat Cheese Salad

This is a salad that has received rave reviews on the three occasions I’ve served it. Because I am a fairly lazy cook, I have taken some liberties with the original recipe. My apologies to its author.

Ingredients for the beet salad:

• a tin of baby beets, drained and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots or minced onion, if you don’t happen to have shallots
• at least 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of a rich sweet vinegar such as balsamic or sherry vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ cup shelled nuts like walnuts, pistachios or pecans
• 2 cups of small salad greens or a combination of salad greens mixed with fresh herb leaves, such as mint or Italian parsley

Ingredients for the cheese:

• ¼ cup (4 ounces) fresh goat cheese
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon of rice or white wine vinegar (or more to taste)
• ½ teaspoon of coarsely ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon salt, or more to taste

Methods: 
Cut the beets into bite-sized pieces then place them in a bowl with the shallots, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Let the beets marinate for at least 30 minutes. Toast the nuts briefly, sprinkle them with salt if unsalted and chop them coarsely. Prepare the goat cheese by whisking/whipping the cheese with the olive oil, vinegar, cream, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To serve, arrange the greens on a platter, then pile on the beets. Spoon any remaining dressing over the salad. Spoon on dollops of the whipped cheese and sprinkle with the nuts.