Arugula, Beet, Feta, Pecan Salad with Quick Balsamic Dressing

I know, the name of this post (and recipe) isn’t very exciting, but I couldn’t think of anything cool enough for this simple, but deceptively delicious salad. Amazing Arugula Salad? Nah. Mouth-Watering Beet Salad? Too misleading (sounds like a mostly-beet salad). Nope…I decided to keep the name straightforward to match the preparation. Eats this tasty shouldn’t be this easy to put together…

I put together this salad on Sunday afternoon based completely on what I had in my refrigerator at the time. I lucked out and got to take home a couple leftover ingredients from the farm-to-table dinner on Saturday (suh-weet, right? Thank you Jaime & Courtney!). I was really excited to be given the leftover beets. Beets + Salad = Foodie Heaven. If you don’t agree then you probably just haven’t had them cooked right. They’re so underappreciated, but so good! I knew those beets would be going into a salad soon, but I didn’t know it would be less than 24 hours after the dinner.  😛

Did I need more than beets and arugula to make a delicious salad? Not really (hello, remember this one?!), but feta added some nice creaminess and the pecans added some crunch. And since I’ve recently picked up a particularly taste bottle of balsamic at the farmer’s market, I’ve been putting it on a lot of my eats, salad dressings included. Thusly, the dressing was a no-brainer.

So easy, so right. Nom!

 

Arugula, Beet, Feta, Pecan Salad

This salad makes a great use of leftover roasted beets. The key to ease of preparation is having the beets ready already. If you don’t have leftovers, you actually can get ready-t0-eat beets at some grocery stores (I think I’ve seen them at Trader Joe’s). The combination of beets and arugula is particularly tasty, but feel free to switch out the greens for something else (no, I don’t recommend leaving off the beets! hehe). Heck, you could even switch out the cheese and nuts for different types. Tweak the combination of ingredients to your taste.

I prefer this salad as a side or light lunch/snack.

*Vegetarian* *Vegan if you leave the cheese off* *Maybe GF, too? Does anyone know?"*

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cups arugula (I like to quadruple wash mine and dry it in a salad spinner)
• 1/4 – 1/3 cup roasted beets, cut into small pieces (click here to learn how to roast your own)
• 1/8 – 1/4 cup crumbled feta
• 2-3 tablespoons pecans (toast them for an extra flavor boost)
• Quick Balsamic Dressing, recipe follows

Directions:

1. You can mix all the ingredients up, but I prefer to layer mine, starting by piling the arugula leaves in a tall pile on a large plate.
2. Place beets around the arugula leaves.
3. Sprinkle feta over the salad.
4. Sprinkle pecans over the salad.
5. Drizzle salad with Quick Balsamic Dressing and enjoy!

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Quick Balsamic Dressing

I’ve heard different things about proportions of oil to balsamic. I found one-to-one worked ok for this salad, but maybe that’s because I really, really like balsamic. Use a really good quality balsamic for the best flavor.

*Vegan* *Probably GF, too?*

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• sprinkle salt, about 1/8 teaspoon
• dash of fresh-cracked pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Combine balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Drizzle in extra virgin olive oil while whisking until mixture is emulsified.
2. Add additional salt and pepper, if needed.

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If you like these recipes, you may also enjoy:

• Golden Autumn Salad (Roasted beets and squash)
• Roasted Pear Salad with Gorgonzola, Candied Pecans, & Balsamic Reduction (sweet meets savory)
• Tomato, Mozzarella, Basil, Balsamic Salad (a great summer salad)

What underappreciated ingredient are you going gaga for right now? Mine is beets!! 🙂