spinach salad with roasted beets and goat cheese

it just doesn't make sense to go through the trouble of roasting beets without pairing them with goat cheese. this is one of my favorite salads topped with a roasted garlic dressing.

salad:

fresh spinach
roasted beets (about 1/4 cup per person)
goat cheese  (1/2-1 oz per person)

create a bed of spinach in a shallow bowl, top with roasted beets (directions for roasting beets in post below), crumbled goat cheese, and crushed walnuts. drizzle with dressing.

dressing:

1 head of garlic, unpeeled
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

wrap the head of garlic with foil, leaving an opening at the top for steam to escape. bake at 350 F until soft (apx 15-20 minutes). carefully peel roasted garlic cloves (they will be hot and you want to avoid squishing them out of their skins). for a more rustic texture, you can mash the garlic by hand and mix with the other ingredients, or for a smoother texture, you can combine all of the ingredients in a blender.

eat up!