Beet Caprese Salad //
Oh, don’t you just love that summer is approaching rather quickly? Even though we are only in the midst of this spring season, I am eagerly awaiting pretty summer days… filled with lazy pajama mornings, no frantic schedule, loads of time with the kids, endless amounts of sunshine, and light tasty dishes enjoyed alfresco! How about you?
This light Beet Caprese Salad is the perfect dish to accompany a warm day! I’ve had variations of it recently, while dining out. I decided to start lunching on this homemade salad during our Spring Break, since I had a little more time to focus on healthy meals. The combination of fresh vegetables, flavorful basil, creamy burrata cheese, crunchy pine nuts and slightly tangy balsamic dressing is brilliant! Your tastebuds will surely do a happy dance!
The preparation takes mere minutes if you start with pre-cooked beets (that would be my recommendation to you). I bought them in the refrigerator section at Trader Joe’s. The rest of the ingredients you can slice and layer into a bowl or platter to serve. You can omit the spinach leaves altogether, and serve this deliciousness as an appetizer (by itself), or as a topping on warm grilled bread to make bruschetta.
Regardless of how you decide to serve/eat it… you will be delighted! The freshness of the ingredients and robustness of flavor really shines through!
Beet Caprese Salad
Ingredients
- SALAD //
- 1/2 pound beets approx. 2-3 medium // scrubbed, steamed, cooled and sliced
- 1 ripe avocado // skinned and cut into bite-sized chunks
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes or 1/2 pound heirloom tomatoes // sliced
- 1/2 cup fresh basil // chopped or left whole
- 8 oz. fresh burrata cheese //drained and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
- 1/8 - 1/4 cup roasted pine nuts
- 2 cups of fresh spinach // rinsed and dried
- BALSAMIC DRESSING //
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- DRESSING //
- Add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, salt, and black pepper together in a glass jar with a lid. Replace lid on the jar and shake vigorously until thoroughly combined OR mix in a small bowl using a fork to combine. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.
- SALAD //
- In a medium-sized bowl or platter, layer salad ingredients starting with the fresh spinach leaves.
- Add the sliced beets, avocado, tomatoes, basil, burrata cheese, and pine nuts.
- Drizzle on the balsamic dressing.
- Serve and enjoy immediately!
Notes
* To make this recipe even easier, I purchased my beets all ready cooked and ready to eat from the refrigerator section of Trader Joe's.
Enjoy, friends! The warm days of summer are drawing near!
