Beet, goat cheese salad tasty vegetarian meal

Linda Gassenheimer

Sweet beets and tangy goat cheese combined with toasted walnuts, arugula and salad greens make a tasty salad supper. This is a vegetarian dinner that can be assembled in minutes with the help of supermarket ingredients. No need to spend time roasting the beets. Cooked beets are available in the produce section of the market. Or, instead of using beet cut into cubes, you can find frozen spiral cut beets in the market. Just spread them on top of the salad.

For the Tomato Crostini side dish, tomatoes are cooked for 5 minutes to form a sweet puree that tops the toasted bread.

Helpful Hints:

Any type of salad dressing can be used.

Any type of bread can be used for the crostini.

Countdown:

Make the tomato crostini.

Assemble the salad.

To buy: 1 small package walnuts, 1 container washed, ready-to-eat arugula, 1 container washed, ready-to-eat salad greens, 1 package cooked, ready-to-eat beets, 1 package soft goat cheese, 1 red bell pepper, 1 tomato, 1 whole wheat baguette and 1 container olive oil spray.

Staples: garlic, reduced-fat oil and vinegar dressing, salt and black peppercorns.

BEET AND GOAT CHEESE SALAD

1/4 cup walnuts

2 cups washed, ready-to-eat arugula

2 cups washed, ready-to-eat salad greens

2 cups cooked, ready-to-eat beets cut into 1/2-inch pieces

4 ounces soft goat cheese, cut into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces

1 cup sliced red bell pepper

4 tablespoons reduced fat oil and vinegar dressing

Toast walnuts until golden either in a toaster oven or under the broiler about 3 to 4 minutes. Watch to see that they do not burn.

Divide the arugula and salad greens between two dinner plates. Add the beets, goat cheese, walnuts and red bell pepper slices. Toss well. Drizzle dressing over the entire salad.

TOMATO CROSTINI

Olive oil spray

1 tomato, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 cup)

1 small crushed garlic clove

2 slices whole wheat baguette

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat and spray with olive oil spray. Add the tomatoes and garlic. Saute until tomatoes give off their juice, about 5 minutes. Chop the tomatoes into smaller pieces with the edge of a spoon while they cook. Cook until the tomatoes are dry and form a puree.

While tomatoes saute, toast the baguette slices. Spoon the tomato puree over the toasted bread and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with the salad.

Tribune News Service