Roasted Beet Salad With Walnuts And Goat Cheese

Ingredients:
8 to 9 Small to Medium Red And Yellow Beets
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Cup Walnut Halves
2 1/2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
Salt & Pepper
3 Ounces Goat Cheese

Dressing:
1/4 Cup Sicilian Lemon Balsamic Vinegar
1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1 Tablespoon Honey
1/2 Cup Walnut Oil
3 Tablespoons Chopped Chives
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Wash and dry the beets and place in an oven-proof casserole dish, then bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the beets are tender when pierced with a knife.
Allow to cool, then cut off each end and peel.
To prepare the walnuts, heat the butter until sizzling in a frying pan over medium heat and then add walnuts.

Cook the walnuts for about 2 minutes, shaking the pan a few times while they cook.
Add the maple syrup and season with salt and pepper.
Remove from the heat and set aside.

To make the dressing, add all of the ingredients into a bowl and whisk until smooth.
To assemble the salad, slice the beets and arrange them attractively onto four plates.
Sprinkle with walnuts and crumble the goat cheese over the beets.
Whisk the dressing once more, and then drizzle some of the dressing over each plate.

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Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients
2 medium eggplants
½ lb of chopped tomatoes
1 lg garlic clove
5 basil leaves
5 bay leaves
2 tablespoons Mission EVOO
(Basil, Garlic, or Tuscon Herb
oil would be great too!)
a pinch of sugar
salt and pepper to taste
4-5 slices of pancetta
3 oz. of goat cheese
9 oz. of mozzarella cheese
grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Cut the eggplants lengthwise into slices about 1/2” thick. Sprinkle with coarse salt and olive oil, let drain in a strainer for at least 30 minutes.

Mince the garlic. In a nonstick frying pan, saute the pancetta till crisp (like bacon) remove and drain the fat off leaving a small amount in the pan. Add the chopped tomatoes, pinch of sugar, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and basil leaves over a medium flame. Set aside. Brown the drained eggplant over high heat for 2 minutes on each side.

Preheat oven to 350°. Place the eggplant slices in a large baking dish. Add slices of mozzarella, then the grilled pieces of pancetta and bits of goat cheese. Top with tomato sauce. Sprinkle Parmesan on top and bake for 20 minutes. Serve warm with fresh basil.

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Roasted grape and goat cheese salad

This salad presents a new way to enjoy grapes. Roasting the grapes with balsamic vinegar creates a sweet and savoury vinaigrette to spoon over a simple salad.

2 cups grapes, halved

2 tbsp Blackberry Ginger Balsamic Vinegar

2 tbsp Lemon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of salt

8 cups mesclun mix or mixed baby greens

3 kiwifruit, peeled and cut into wedges

4 oz goat cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped

Directions

Heat oven to 400 F.

Toss grapes with the vinegar, olive oil, black pepper and salt in an eight-inch baking dish. Roast for 30 minutes or until shriveled and juices are released; cool slightly. (Grapes can be made ahead and reheated gently before serving.)

Meanwhile, divide greens and kiwifruit between four serving plates. Sprinkle evenly with goat cheese and walnuts. Spoon the warm grape mixture, along with juices, over the salads.

Tips
Add sliced grilled chicken, pork or salmon to serve as a main-course salad. Or spoon the warm grape mixture over Brie or Camembert cheese and serve with crackers as an appetizer or as part of a cheese coarse.

~ Recipe courtesy of California Grapes and News Canada

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Goat Cheese Ravioli with Caramelized Shallots and Mushroom-Sage Cream Sauce

For The Pasta Dough
2 cups all purpose flour
3 large, fresh eggs

Filling
8 oz. fresh goat cheese
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
Fresh ground pepper

Sauce
1/3 cup thinly sliced shallots
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup white wine
2 tablespoons of SOOC Mushroom-Sage Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste 

Directions
Whisk together the ingredients for the filling and set aside.  Mix the pasta dough and roll pasta sheets using a pasta machine or as thin as possible by hand with a rolling pin. Bring a a large pot of heavily salted water to boil. Carefully place a heaping teaspoon of filling in rows down the center of the bottom pasta sheet, allowing for at least 1″ of space around each mound of filling. Wet the edges around the filling with water and lay a second sheet on top. Seal the edges of each ravioli thoroughly and cut in to individual raviolis. Place finished raviolis on a dry, clean towel or parchment paper.

Once all the raviolis are assembled, in a large saute pan saute the thinly sliced shallots in Mushroom-Sage EVOO over medium heat. Begin to boil the raviolis in small batches for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes per batch. Flip them to cook on both sides. Remove the thoroughly drained raviolis to a large serving bowl. Allow the shallots to become golden. When the shallots become golden and caramelized add the white wine and reduce by half.  Add the cream and simmer for an additional minute whisking to combine. Season the sauce with salt and fresh ground pepper.

Pour the warm cream sauce over the the raviolis and toss. Serve immediately. 

Serves 4

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Caramelised Red Onion Chutney

“Wonderful with goat’s cheese, on a pizza or in a quiche.It’s also at home in a cheese toastie.”

8 red onions

1 red chili

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons olive oil, like the mild Leccino Olive Oil

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, like the Traditional Balsamic

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

Directions:

Cut your onions and chili into short, thin slices and put them into a pan with the bay leaves and oil. Cook gently over a low heat for about 20 minutes.

Once the onions are dark and sticky, add the sugar and the vinegars and simmer for 30 minutes or so, until the chutney is thick and dark.

Pour the chutney into hot, sterilized jars and let it cool. Ideally, you should leave it for a month or more before you eat it, to mature in flavor.

Makes about 4-6 jars.

Recipe from The SuperJam Cookbook by Fraser Doherty. Found on The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/03/caramelised-red-onion-chutney-recipe

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