Salad Saturday -- Roasted Beet Salad

I decided I'm going to try to blog lots, lots more because the more I blog, the more I cook.  The more I cook, the better we eat and the better we eat, the better I do with my quest for eating more veggie and hopefully, the more veggies I eat, I might even lose a pound or two. 

A couple of months ago I went to Biaggi's with friends and had a few bites of Todd's salad...who knew I liked beets?  When we walked into the farmer's market on Saturday, I saw beets, remembered that salad and thought I'd give it a try.  Here's my version...

Roasted Beet Salad

1 bunch of beets
1 bunch of arugula
2 oz. goat cheese or other soft cheese
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup dried cranberries or cherries (I used cranberries)

Vinegrette
1/2 shallot grated
2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon honey

Peel and chop beets into small bite size pieces.  Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and wrap in aluminum foil.  Place on baking sheet pan and roast in oven at 425 degrees for 1-1 1/2 hours or until the beets are soft to the touch.

Chop walnuts and toast in a dry saute pan.  Remove from heat and place on plate.  Use a mellon baller or other small scoop to make balls of the goat cheese.  Roll between your palms to soften slightly and roll in the chopped walnuts.  Set the balls of walnut covered cheese on a plate and gently flatten.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Combine all the ingredients for vinegrette in a large salad bowl and whisk together.  Toss the cooled beets, arugula and dried fruit with the vinegrette.  Serve cheese on the side.  Serves 2.