Healthy Salad!--Grilled Chicken, Roasted Red Beets, Goat Cheese, Pomegranate Seeds, Blackberries, and Balsamic.

Healthy Salad!—Grilled Chicken, Roasted Red Beets, Goat Cheese, Pomegranate Seeds, Blackberries, and Balsamic.

Last night I made one of the greatest salads I have ever had.

All with random ingredients in the house. Lot’s complementing flavors, nice and light, and healthy, too!

If I can make this in 20 minutes so can you. Just follow this guide!

Make sure to wash your greens! Even if they are pre-washed.

Now, the most intimidating component—the beets. Roasting beets is easy! Smaller ones are easier. Just wrap in foil and roast at 400F until a knife slips out with ease.

I actually found some cooked beets that weren’t in a can! They were in the produce section and sealed in an air-tight package.

I cut the beets and soaked them in 4T balsamic vinegar while I made everything else. By doing this you add a little acidity to the beets (VERY delicious), and eventually I added 1T of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. Once you add the oil, just give it a brief whisk with the beets and now you have a delicious balsamic-beet dressing.

I actually threw the blackberries into the dressing too with the beets. By the time I ate the salad the blackberries were a little mushy—but in a really pleasant way. I think I’ll do that again next time. BUT WASH THEM FIRST. : )

The pomegranate seeds were in the fridge from the last dish I made. You can buy pomegranate seeds OR you can teach yourself an easy way to seed a pomegranate.

How to get the seeds out of a pomegranate—fill a mixing bowl with water. Wash the outside of the pomegranate (so you don’t contaminate the water). Chop the pomegranate into chunks and put them in the bowl. With your hands in the water, peel the segments open and ease the seeds out. The seeds will sink to the bottom and the pulp will float to the top. Simple! No salad is complete without a crunch. I love croutons don’t get me wrong! But the seeds were the perfect addition to this salad.

Get your grill hot. Season your chicken breast with salt and pepper. Grill until heavenly charred and cooked through. Rest 5 minutes before slicing!

While the chicken is resting, give your dressing another quick whisk. Add the greens to the dressing bowl and toss. Plate. Top with chicken, goat cheese crumbles, and if you’re like me you’ll add some fresh ground pepper.

Then very simply—DEVOUR!

-Rachel

ramake89@aol.com