This is by far the most beautifully sophisticated salad that is sure to impress! Nobody needs to know that it only takes 5 minutes to put together!

Ingredients

• Baby arugula
• Cooked beets (I like deep red beets but a combination of different colored beets are pretty too!)
• Goat cheese
• Roasted, unsalted walnuts
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar (I like flavored vinegars for extra depth! Used Cherry Balsamic for this round)
• Freshly ground black pepper

Method

• The only real work for this salad is making sure you have cooked beets on hand. Everything else is just assembly!
• I use the traditional method of pressure cooking my beets till the skin peels off readily. I typically do this in advance and leave the peeled, cubed beets in my fridge ready for whatever recipe I might be in the mood for. You can obviously use an instant pot, or roast the beets or even buy ready-to-use beets. Just make sure they are not canned or jarred – we want clean tasting beets with no preservatives or vinegar taste.
• For the vinaigrette, mix together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, freshly ground pepper in the following proportion – if you think the dressing is too thick, add a bit more olive oil.
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Toss the baby arugula (about a handful per person) in a little vinaigrette.
• Now for the layering. Start with a bed of baby arugula.
• Layer on the cubed beets on top.
• Add with a handful of walnuts.
• Top with creamy goat cheese pieces (about an ounce per person). This is the only real source of sodium (100mg sodium per oz) in the salad.
• Drizzle the balsamic vinaigrette over the salad and it’s ready to serve!