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| Clover near the cliffs on Slae Head Drive near Dingle Ireland |
10-12 small beets, no more than 2 inches in diameter, roasted
6 strips of applewood smoked bacon, cooked until crisp, cut in bite size pieces
4 cups baby spinach
6 ounces Cashel Blue cheese or Maytag Blue, broken into small chunks
1/3 cup toasted, chopped hazelnuts
2 tablespoons chopped chives
Dressing:
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Scrub the beets under cool running water. Remove the greens for another use but leave the root intact. Rub the beets with olive oil and wrap in a sealed foil packet. Place the pouch on a baking sheet and roast for 40-60 minutes or until the beets are tender. Allow the beets to cool at least 10 minutes, then gently remove the peel. Slice into fourths, set aside.
Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees. While the beets are cooling bake 6 slices of bacon, turning once until crisp. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and blot to remove excess fat. Slice into bite sized pieces. Set aside.
Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small pitcher. Set aside.
Arrange spinach leaves on a serving platter or 4 individual salad plates. Whisk the dressing again and spoon a little over the spinach leaves. Arrange the beets on top and pour the remaining dressing over them. Sprinkle each plate with blue cheese, bacon and nuts. Finish with chopped chives. Serve!
Love that this is a "memorable" salad…most are just pretty forgettable! If you can't find Irish cheese, a Danablu like Castello is also great in salads. I think toasting the hazelnuts is also a good idea. It always makes a difference in baking, so I imagine it would be even more noticeable on a salad!
Oooooooh, this is absolutely drool-worthy!!! I LOVE all these ingredients and can tell this salad is amazing!! I would have never guessed it was an Irish recipe. Love it! Thank you very much for this one!! blessings ~ tanna
Tricia, this is gorgeous and so delicious looking. It's so funny that people have the notion that the food from the British Isles is boring and uninteresting. I've found nothing could be farther from the truth. Love everything about your salad!
I could eat salad 3 times a day if it always had beets in it. 🙂 But I have always bought the beets pre-cooked. I am definitely going to try your recipe. My only change will be goat cheese for the blue cheese. Thanks!
I need to cook with beets sometime! This looks super creative and delicious!
My husband and I adore blue cheese, sometimes that's all we have for dinner, a couple of different varieties, crackers, grapes, and wine. This salad looks perfect, I know we'll love it!
What a gorgeous salad, Tricia. There is nothing here not to like. This sounds delicious. Have a wonderful weekend. Blessings…Mary
Bev would love this salad and so would I if it were "Bacon and spinach salad with blue cheese." Beets are pretty low on my list of food likes.
What a great recipe. Many of my favorites in the same dish! I will have to check this book out!
Colourful and lots of flavor! Great recipe.
I would love to visit Ireland (and Scotland as well) someday. Your salad looks wonderful- I love beets but hubby does not. That means I don't have to share! 🙂
Scotland is on my list too – my heritage is Irish and Scottish – so it is a must see one day. Beets – nature's candy!
This is a beautiful salad! While not a fan of beets most of the time, I would be willing to try this combination. All the flavors sound amazing together. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to visit Ireland. It is at the tip top of my someday-list!
I really liked the smaller beets and roasting is the only way to go! Put Ireland on your list – they love Americans and know how to make you feel at home.