Almond Crusted Goat Cheese with Honey Beets

I'm on a roll with all these simple and fast recipes! Today I created a simple salad out of beets and goat cheese I had to finish. My original idea was to use panko crumbs or regular bread crumbs to coat the goat cheese. I didn't have any of those on hand so I used almonds. Well, I could have created crumbs out of some crackers or tried mini toast but my idea of using almonds sounded better :)

My husband and I tend to hoard nuts and almonds are one of our favorite nuts to snack and cook with. I think it all started when I made granola a couple of years ago. Now, we always make sure we have a few variety of nuts around for that. Whenever there is a nut sale on big bags, we buy them. The big bags are usually good for awhile too. When the blanched almonds go on sale in the bulk section, I get those for cooking. My husband also eats nuts with his cereal so we actually consume our nuts quite quickly.

I love that this beet and goat cheese salad is so simple and classy at the same time. I can totally see this being served as the first course at a fancy gathering accompanied with some crusty homemade artisan bread. If you are generous with the portions, it could be eaten alone as well and be quite filling. Especially if you serve it with bread and use the bread to dip and clean off all the juices from your plate!

Caution: Don't be alarm the next time you pee or do #2. Beets will go right through your system, trust me! We have been eating a lot of beets in the past few months so we know what to expect now. Lol.

Beets being fried up in a wok.

Some of the sliced goat cheese coated with grind up almonds.

Almond Crusted Goat Cheese with Honey Beets
Serves 5
(Inspired by The Crispy Goat Cheese Salad)

6-7 medium beets, sliced
1tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

4 inch log of goat cheese, sliced
3/4 cups blanched almonds, grinded
1 bunch spinach, washed and spun dry
salt/pepper to taste

Fry beets with oil. Add honey. Cook until beets can be easily pierced through with a fork. Turn off heat and add balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and salt.

Coat goat cheese slices in almond. Toast this until it's light brown (see photos). You can use a toaster oven to bake it. I used my panini grill since it was more convenient.

To assemble, place some spinach first, then a few beet slices. Spoon over some of the juices and sauce from the fried beets. Finally, top with a couple of goat cheese slices. Add a bit of salt and pepper if you like.