I have been dying to re-create a delicious salad I had at the Front Room in Portland Maine and this weekend, when I was snowed in, I finally got the chance to do so. Although its not on their current menu, the memorable salad I had a hankering for was spinach, crumbled goat cheese, diced beets and dried cranberries topped with a balsamic reduction. My re-creation varied slightly from the original but still managed to satisfy my craving for this delicious salad.
The beets I used were the “candy-striped” variety so that’s why they do not appear that vibrant red in the picture above. I quartered and steamed them for around 30-40 minutes until they became tender and the peeling came off with ease. From there I chopped them into a small dice, put them in a jar and covered them with olive oil and red wine vinegar. My taste buds fall on the side of salty/sour so I like to add alot of vinegar to my beets to balance our the sweetness but if you are a fan of sweet then you should hold back on the vinegar.
The beets were the hard part, the rest of the salad came together in a breeze. Arugula, crumbled raw goat cheese, toasted walnuts, sliced red onion and a honey-balsamic vinaigrette. I figured the honey would compensate for the lack of dried cranberries and it did the trick!
These types of salads are always pricey on restaurant menus but are super simple to recreate in your own kitchen so keep this in mind!
