Salad of Pistachios, Beet and Goat Cheese

Here is an old recipe from Gourmet Magazine that is offered verbatim.

I would say that this is not your every day recipe. But if you are looking to impress folks with a unique salad for a nice sit down meal... this is it.

The recipe calls for some lesser common ingredients such as Mache and Pistachio oil. You should be able to find both at your larger grocers or a gourmet grocer (Whole Foods or Trader Joes).

I do not recommend skipping any ingredients or the plating process. It is all meant to come together to create a real "WOW" for your guests.


Ingredients:

3 large red beets
2 large golden beets
1/4 cup minced shallot
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup pistachio oil
4 ounces soft mild goat cheese
3 tablespoons salted shelled pistachios (not dyed red), coarsely chopped
1 ounce mache (also called lamb's lettuce), trimmed

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Separately wrap red and golden beets tightly in double layers of foil and roast in middle of oven until tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Unwrap beets.

3. While beets are cooling slightly, whisk together shallot, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, then add oil in a stream, whisking.

4. When beets are cool enough to handle, slip off and discard skins. Separately cut red and golden beets into 1/4-inch dice and put in separate bowls. Add 2 1/2 tablespoons dressing to each bowl and toss to coat.

5. Place cookie cutter in center of 1 of 8 salad plates. Put one eighth of red beets in cutter and pack down with your fingertips. Crumble 2 teaspoons goat cheese on top, then one eighth of golden beets, packing them down. Gently lift cutter up and away from stack. Make 7 more servings in same manner. Drizzle each plate with 1 teaspoon dressing and scatter with some pistachios.

6. Toss mache with just enough remaining dressing to coat and gently mound on top of beets. Serve immediately.

Yield: 8 servings