Roasted Beetroot Salad With Maple-Candied Pecans and Blue Cheese

When I first spotted these colorful beetroots at the farmers market this weekend, I was so excited because it finally felt like fall was approaching. I bought them not quite knowing what to make, but then I came across the idea for this salad. Colorful beets rest on top of a plate of mixed greens, and are accompanied by creamy blue cheese and maple toasted pecans. A lemon and thyme vinaigrette  tops off this perfect fall salad. 

Ingredients:

Maple-candied pecans

• 1 cup of pecans
• ¼ cup maple syrup

Thyme vinaigrette

• juice of ½ lemon
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• salt & pepper to taste

Salad

• 2-3 different beetroot, peeled and very thinly sliced (I used golden beetroot and purple beetroot)
•  ¼ cup olive oil
• 100g crumbled blue cheese
• baby salad leaves 

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Trim stems and coat beets with olive oil. Wrap beets individually with tin foil and place on a cookie sheet. Bake beets approximately 45 minutes to an hour or until beets are tender. Allow to cool completely. Once cool, peel and slice beets as thinly as possible. 
2. To make the candied pecans, toast the nuts in a large frying pan over medium heat for a minute.
3. Pour in the maple syrup and allow to cook and get sticky for a minute.
4. Remove the nuts from the pan and place on a sheet of baking paper. Allow to cool completely.
5. To make the vinaigrette, combine the ingredients and mix well. Set aside.
6. To make the salad, place the salad leaves on a platter and top with the sliced beetroot, candied pecans and crumble over the goat’s cheese.
7. Dress with the vinaigrette and serve.