Dandelion Salad With Beets, Bacon and Goat Cheese Toasts
- Total Time
- 20 minutes, plus time to cook beets
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 2garlic cloves, smashed to a paste with a little salt
- 2teaspoons grated ginger
- 2tablespoons lime juice
- 1tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 2tablespoons Dijon mustard
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 4tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for goat cheese toasts
- 6medium beets, cooked and peeled (see note)
- 6ounces bacon, cut into ¼-inch-thick lardons
- 6baguette slices
- 6ounces fresh goat cheese, cut into ½-inch rounds
- 6ounces dandelion greens, trimmed, washed and dried
- 38-minute hard-cooked eggs, peeled, quartered and lightly seasoned
Preparation
- Step 1
Make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together garlic, ginger, lime juice, sherry vinegar and mustard. Season with salt and pepper, then whisk in olive oil. Taste and adjust seasoning. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Step 2
Cut the beets into ¾-inch wedges. Put them in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Dress with 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette and toss to coat well. Set aside for at least 10 minutes at room temperature, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.
- Step 3
Put a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the lardons and let them begin to brown and sizzle, then reduce heat and cook gently, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or so, until lardons are barely crisp and lightly browned. Remove lardons from pan with a slotted spoon and keep warm.
- Step 4
Paint baguette slices lightly on both sides with olive oil and top each with a slice of goat cheese. Bake for 10 minutes or so until bread is toasted and cheese has softened slightly. Put dandelion greens in a large shallow bowl. Season lightly with salt and pepper and toss gently to coat. Add up to 3 tablespoons of vinaigrette and toss to coat leaves well. Divide dressed leaves among 6 plates.
- Step 5
Garnish each plate with beets, bacon, hard-cooked eggs and goat cheese toast. Alternatively, serve family style with garnishes scattered over the top of the salad.
- The beets can be cooked and peeled up to 2 days ahead. Put them in a low-sided baking dish in one layer (cut them in half vertically if very large), add 1 or 2 cups water and cover pan tightly with foil. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour 15 minutes, until tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife. (Alternatively, simmer beets on the stovetop.) Remove and let cool slightly, but peel while still warm — the skins should slip right off with gentle pressure. If you are going to use them right away, cut them in wedges and dress with vinaigrette. Otherwise, wrap well and refrigerate.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
You don't need a fancy supermarket; dandelion greens are affordable in most Greek or Chinese greenmarkets/stores.
Great vinegrette. I assume it’s supposed to be 2 teaspoons mustard not 2 tablespoons. At least that’s what I used. We used dandelion and tart apples.
This recipe—made exactly as specified—is lovely. But, the real star is the amazing dressing, which works on all sorts of salads.
Cook beets day or morning before so they can cool for easy peeling later. I used mixed greens instead of dandelion, they were great. I used lemon juice instead of Lime, delicious. Definitely making this again.
consider soaking the dandelions in cold water for 10-20 minutes to reduce their bitterness first. Also removing the stems will make them taste less bitter. Further, try cooking for different periods of time to balance tenderness versus limpyness -- taste as you cook and decide when the greens are too limpy for your taste versus tender.
I didn't have any beets, lardon or goat cheese, but the greens alone with that delicious dressing were sensational, indeed! A small handful of pumpkin seeds scattered on top....yum.
In the Loire Valley, walnut oil is often used instead of olive oil.
If you're not keen on goat cheese sandwiches, try adding roasted croûtons (you can rub fresh garlic on them: they're more Gallic with garlic). As for the eggs, I prefer soft-boiled (5 to 6 minutes). The yolk is a little runny, and melds with the vinaigrette.
Or if you have a yard you can pick the young leaves (before flowering) and use them.
Excellent advice about avoiding herbicides and other chemicals. Either you are out in the country or at the gourmand supermarket for that. Like the idea of the bitter greens juxtaposed with the richness of the bacon and egg. A really good, low-sulfur egg from the chicken coop out back would be optimal.
You don't need a fancy supermarket; dandelion greens are affordable in most Greek or Chinese greenmarkets/stores.
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