An easy beet salad with arugula, pecans, gorgonzola cheese and a simple balsamic vinaigrette. It's perfect as a side salad or topped with protein for a meal sized salad.
Place the beets in a large saucepan, add water to cover, as well as, the lemon juice or vinegar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. The cook time will vary based on how large the beets are. Drain and place pot under cold running water. Keeping rinsing until beets are cool enough to be handled. Peel skin off the beets, quarter and set aside.
While beets are cooking, make dressing and toast pecans. To make dressing, place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Toast pecans by placing them in a skillet over medium-low heat for about 2 to 5 minutes. Remove from skillet and spread on plate to cool.
To serve the salad, place arugula on a platter or in a large salad bowl. Top with beets, pecans, gorgonzola cheese. Serve with balsamic dressing on the side. You can toss the salad, but I find that all the toppings sink to the bottom and the liquid from the beets make the salad look kind of messy.
Notes
To make the prep of this salad even faster, you can use pre-cooked beets and/or store-bought dressing. These beets are found in the produce section of most grocery stores.