PARTNER POST – Get inspired with creatively crafted Castello Blue Cheese as we celebrate a Summer of Blue with #BluesdayTuesday.
Tangy blue cheese is served with cool red and golden beets, for a sweet salad that is topped with red onion, toasted pecans, arugula, and basil, before being drizzled with an orange vinaigrette. Fresh, cool, creamy, decadent… just one bite, and you will be hooked!
By Susan Benton
I should have blue cheese running through my veins as I love it that much. I was the weird kid that thought blue cheese was the greatest thing since sliced bread. 
I wanted something cool with my Castello Extra Creamy Danish Blue. Beets! Another of my favorite foods, yet something I very rarely cook at home. A challenge!
Yes, it is tempting to top a burger with blue, or add the creamy blue to Gulf shrimp and grits, and I have been known to stuff blue cheese in my biscuits. Also, there is nothing better than sweet summer figs and blue cheese pressed between bread, slathered with butter and then griddled, or on top of a flatbread pizza. But… I opted to steam and then cool red and golden beets, for a sweet salad that is topped with tangy blue cheese, spicy red onion, salted toasted local pecans, surrounded by fresh arugula, basil from my garden, and then drizzled with a delicious orange vinaigrette for a touch of acidity. Fresh, cool, creamy, decadent… just one bite, and you will be hooked!
Whether it’s a sharp flavor, sweet floral notes, or a nutty aroma, blue cheese can come in many different forms. With crumbles, spreadables, slices and chunks,Castello blue cheeses are the perfect way to transform a blah meal into an amazing one! There are so many things to do with blue!
Castello Summer of Blue — Beet and Arugula Salad with Creamy Blue Cheese, Pecans and Orange Vinaigrette
Description
Blue cheese is served with beets for a sweet salad with red onion, pecans, arugula, and basil, drizzled with orange dressing. Fresh, cool, decadent.
Ingredients
Salad
- 5 ounces organic baby arugula
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves large chop
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 1 pound beets (about 2 medium sized golden and red to total 4 beets)
- 3 tablespoons Salted Pecans
- 1/4 cup crumbled CASTELLO® Extra Creamy Danish Blue
Dressing
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
- 1 teaspoons honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons good balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon good extra-virgin olive oil
Pecans
- 1 lb pecans halved
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup butter
Instructions
Salad
- Separately scrub red and golden beets clean, cut each in 1/2 and place in a steamer basket. Cook on medium high heat about 15 minutes until al dente (cooked through but still firm). Remember not to cook red and golden together. Remove from basket, cool and then rub the skins gently off. Cut into 1/4 inch slices.
Dressing
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- In a bowl, whisk together the orange juice, zest, honey, vinegar, mustard and oil; season with salt and pepper
Pecans
- Melt butter in microwave oven. Add salt and toss with pecans. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 300°F degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, and cool on paper towels.
To serve
- Arrange the golden beets on one side of the plate, red beets on the other, and pile arugula tossed with basil and red onion in the center of the plate. Arrange salted pecans and creamy blue cheese on top of salad plate, and then lightly drizzle with the orange vinaigrette.
Notes
You can purchase pecans salted. I opted to buy mine from my friend, Renee Savary , an organic “farmher” who owns Twin Oaks Farms in Bonifay, Florida. Her chickens are molting so she is currently without eggs, her organic self sustaining bee hive is not producing, but her heritage pork, preserves, jams and jellies are rocking my world!
Cook the red and golden beets separately, as the red will definitely take over your plate and anything in its way!
- Category: Side, Main
Talk about the perfect summer salad!
Thank you! It truly is a great salad, and I apprecite your comment! :) #30AEata