The CSA has introduced me to the wonderful world of beets, almost every week I get a bushel of red beets. I like to use the entire beet. The tops are often thrown out. They make excellent salads and cook up wonderfully. I decided to introduce another type of beet to my cooking. The Golden Beet! This beets is a rich, golden-yellow and very sweet. This post was written to show case my entry into this months Food and Wine Conference, which is held in Orlando. Wish Farms is sponsoring #BlueberryToss recipe contest . The Lucky winners get to attend the conference!!
Champagne blueberry dressing with coco nibs and candied bacon blueberry salad!
I wanted to create a fresh light salad with complementary colors to the star of the dish the blueberry. Golden beets provide a sweetness to the sometimes tart blueberry. I went to the grocery store and walked around to find inspiration. I was at Moms Organic market and found yellow heirloom tomatoes. I could taste EVO and sea salt in my mind when I picked up the plump tomato.
I originally wanted to use kale since I had three varieties in the fridge. But Baby Romain lettuce had a crisp refreshing look to it. For my protein I needed the yummy factor candied bacon!! Paired with coco nibs and Bulgarian feta and fresh blue berries a surprise hit with roommates. Coco nibs combine nicely with the salt in the feta and sweetness of the fruit and bacon.
Salad
1 head baby romaine lettuce
3 strips candied bacon (1/3 cup brown sugar baked for 15 mins at 325 degrees)
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1 small Roasted golden beet ( 400 degrees in aluminum foil with Eco and sea salt)
1/3 small golden beet graded
1oz Bulgarian Feta
1/3 sliced heirloom yellow tomato (tossed in olive oil and sea salt)
1 tbs Coco Nibs sprinkled on top
For my dressing I wanted a very light acidic dressing. Since this is for a Food and Wine Conference I wanted to use Champagne.
I found that leaving the dressing overnight was best just mix all together in a sealed jar.
Dressing
2 tbs White Vinegar
3 tbs Sweet Champagne
1/3 cup blueberry
1/2 tangelo
Pinch of salt
2tbs evo
1 tsp honey
Fresh Thyme
Coffee and Power Tools 