Orange Marinated Beet & Goat Cheese Salad
Print this recipeby Carla Burke, RD
4 servings
Prep time: 90 minutes
Total time: 14 hours (12 hours for marinating)
INGREDIENTS
- 3.25 Tbs olive oil
- 2 Tbs salt
- 2 large red beets
- 2 large golden beets
- ¼ c water
- 3 c orange juice
- ¼ c white wine vinegar
- 3 Tbs sugar
- ¾ lbs boneless chicken thighs
- 1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
- 4 oz goat cheese crumbles
- 5 oz mixed greens
- Pistachio or sunflower seeds to taste
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash beets and coat with 2 Tbs olive oil. Place them in a
baking dish, and add water to the bottom of the dish. Roast for 1 hour and Let cool completely. - Make the marinating brine for the beets by combining the orange juice, vinegar, salt, and
sugar. Whisk until sugar and salt dissolve. - Lay chicken thighs on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Bake chicken thighs for 20
minutes, or until 165 degrees. Once cooked, slice chicken into strips. - Peel the beets. They should slip off right under your fingers. Cut the beets into bite sized
pieces. - Divide the beets into two separate containers for the different colors. Pour the brine over each
and refrigerate for at least 12 hours. - When ready to assemble, heat up the chicken. Drain the chickpeas. Place mixed greens at
the bottom of the bowl. Spoon out beets, adding them to the top. Layer on the chickpeas and
chicken thighs. Sprinkle goat cheese over the salad and enjoy!
Allergy Substitutions:
- Wheat/Gluten – none
- Shellfish/Fish – none
- Soy – none
- Tree nut: substitute sunflower seeds for pistachios
- Dairy: remove the goat cheese
Always check individual brands for allergens.
Make It Cheaper:
Golden beets can sometimes be hard to find or more expensive. You can make this dish entirely of red beets if you would like to decrease costs of shopping around. You can also see if feta cheese is less expensive than goat cheese for a different but still tasty flavor.
Alteration Ideas:
To make this dish lower fat, cut the goat cheese in half. To make it higher fat, double the goat cheese and drizzle with some extra olive oil over the top to finish it. If you want to make this as a meal prep, separate out chicken and chickpeas from salad items. Combine when ready to eat.
Adjust this salad to meet your goals may making these modifications to the ingredients:
Weight Gain:
- 6 ¼ Tbs of olive oil
- 1 lbs boneless chicken thighs
- 2.5 cans of chickpeas
- 8 oz goat cheese crumbles
Weight Loss:
- 2 Tbs of olive oil
- ½ can of chickpeas
- 3 oz goat cheese crumbles
Sports Performance
- 3 ¾ Tbs of olive oil
- 1 lb of boneless chicken thighs
- 2.5 cans of chickpeas
Watch as Carla walks you through this recipe!
BEETS ARE IN SEASON!
DID YOU KNOW?
Beets are high in a property called Betaine. Betaine, or trimethyl glycine, is a colorless nutrient that is also made in the human body that can be potentially protective from liver disease. When looking at serum blood, children with CF on average have lower levels of Betaine.
DID YOU KNOW?
Beets were originally grown to harvest the tops, not the roots. In ancient cultures, beets were considered to increase one’s attractiveness. The Romans believed that drinking beet juice would make you fall in love.
DID YOU KNOW?
In the 1700s it was discovered how to make sugar from beets. The US grows more than 1 million acres of sugar beets every year. About 55% of the sugar used today comes from beets, not sugar cane.
DID YOU KNOW?
Beets are in the Amaranth family, which also includes swiss chard, spinach, and even quinoa.
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