Sweet Beet & Heat Salad

For our first wedding anniversary, Mr. V and I had a little Nashville staycation. We spent one night at a bed and breakfast in Leiper's Fork, saw a movie in the (now-closed) Franklin Theatre, used our season passes to see a show at the Boiler Room Theatre, and had a fancy dinner at Restaurant Zola (also closed now ... are we bad luck?).

Perhaps other foodies can relate, but I remember pretty much every dish I've cooked and many that I've eaten out. Some sort of crazy Food Memory.

At Zola, I had a wonderful salad they called "Beet and Heat" (I think). While I'm not a huge beet eater, I love pickled beets on the salad bar. Last week, visions of this salad started floating in my head after I bought some lovely, organic beets at Green Life.

So I pretty much made it up as I went along. Forgive me lack of real measurements, and experiment to make it to your liking!

Sweet Beet & Heat Salad with Mustardy Vinaigrette
Serves two

1 beet, roasted (I used this as a tutorial)
1/4 cup pecan pieces, toasted in a skillet and then sprinkled with brown sugar and cayenne pepper (lots of sugar, a pinch of cayenne is my preference. Stir to let combine and cool.)
romaine or spring mix lettuce
crumbled goat cheese

Divide your lettuce among two salad plates. Slice your beet and put slices atop lettuce. Sprinkle with goat cheese and pecan pieces. Add vinaigrette just before serving.


Mustardy Vinaigrette
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 c. white wine vinegar
salt and pepper
olive oil, to taste

Whisk together mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stream in olive oil until runny but not too oily--you want it to still be very tart. Taste as you go along until it is how you like it. Drizzle over salads.

Hopefully your husband will at least taste it. Ahem.

Linked to Mouthwatering Monday and Tasty Tuesday.

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Sweet Beet & Heat Salad