yalllll this was SO GOOD. the basic idea is beets + cheese + fruit + greens + nuts! (thanks vegetarian flavor bible). i personally love roasted beets, so i roasted the beets (thinly sliced, at 400F for about 25 mins). a few recipes i would like to make this week call for pine nuts, so i had pine nuts on hand and toasted them in the oven at 325F for about 6 minutes, until fragrant and beginning to brown. i also used feta. a note on feta – find a block of feta that is sitting in its brine. it will taste a lot better than pre-packaged stuff. speaking of sitting, the apple i used for this salad had been sitting around for over two weeks so it was high time to use it. and the arugula… because, well, it’s easy. but you could use any greens, except probably not bitter ones (like radicchio or escarole).
the real game changer here was the balsamic glaze. i googled a recipe to make it. basically: combine 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar with 3 tbsp maple syrup in a small pot. bring to a simmer and let reduce for about 10 minutes. then let cool. and you have a glaze! i stored it in a mason jar and took gary on a walk while it cooled. when i got home, i assembled the salad!
i’m writing a no-recipe recipe for this because it’s just a few components assembled to make the salad and i only made a salad for one, but you could increase the amount you use of each of the components in order to make a big salad – this would be REALLY good as a dish for thanksgiving or christmas. i also think it would be good with some chickpeas to amp up the heartiness a little bit. so, here we go:
ingredients:
- arugula
- feta
- pine nuts, toasted
- apples, sliced
- beets, roasted
- balsamic glaze (details above)
directions:
- make a base layer of the arugula on your serving dish or salad bowl
- spread apples and beets nicely over the top
- sprinkle lots of feta and pine nuts on top
- drizzle all over with the balsamic glaze
- et serve!!
cooking with leeks 
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