roasted beets Archives - Life's A Tomato

I set out to make a great side salad for last night’s dinner. Nothing too complicated, though. A mix of greens, of course. Topped with sliced roasted beets (a favorite in our house!). Next, I needed croutons. Oh, but not the ‘usual’ croutons. Not dried crunchy bread croutons. Nope. Cheese croutons. Glorious fried goat cheese croutons, to be exact! Oh, what wonderful little bites these are. Decadent. Delicious. Dangerous.

The Perfect Crouton

I wouldn’t make these fried goat cheese croutons every day, but I could. They’re very tempting. The only way I kept from eating more of them was to convince myself that by being ‘good’ I could have them again tomorrow.

If I’m cooking for a crowd, I’ll break out my big deep fryer. But, if it’s just the two of us, I’ll fire up my Fry Daddy fryer. It’s the perfect size for both of us. It fries everything perfectly. And as an added bonus, it doesn’t use a lot of oil, which saves me money. These croutons aren’t that big. So it’s my fryer of choice for these!

I get out my big deep fryer when it’s time to fry a large batch of food. It comes to temperature quickly and it maintains that temperature perfectly. It has a built-in oil filter and storage unit so I can re-use the oil several times.

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Da Crumb

I used your standard ole seasoned bread crumbs to bread these croutons. Heck, I think they were the store brand, too. Nothing wrong with that. Not one bit. They came out great. You want to use something else? Go for it. Italian-seasoned bread crumbs? You know those would be great too. Panko? Sure. Just season it up a bit with at least some salt. The croutons will come out extra crunchy for sure!

Also try my copycat of Ruby Tuesday’s croutons, my favorite thing on their salad bar.

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5 from 1 vote

Fried Goat Cheese Croutons

I needed croutons. Oh, but not the ‘usual’ croutons. Not dried crunchy bread croutons. Nope. Cheese croutons.

Course Side

Cuisine American

Keyword cheese, croutons

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 10

Total Time 40

Servings croutons

Calories 67kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

3 4 ounce goat cheese
vegetable oil for frying
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs beaten
1 cup bread crumbs seasoned

Instructions

To make them a bit easier to slice, place the goat cheese logs into the freezer for 30 minutes. Then slice into 1/2″ thick slices.
Heat 1″ of oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven to 375 F.
Place flour in a small bowl or pie pan.
Place beaten eggs into another small bowl or pie pan.
Place breadcrumbs in another small bowl or pie pan.
Working in batches, dip the cheese slices into the flour.
Shake off the excess then dip them into the eggs.
Finally, roll the cheese in the breadcrumbs.
Add to hot oil and fry 2-3 minutes per side, flipping once.
Remove to a paper-towel lined plate to cool and drain.

Notes

Also great in tomato soup!

Nutrition

Nutritional values are approximate.

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You could’ve just knocked me over with a feather. Silly me, having low expectations for a salad with roasted beets, dill and cucumber. I couldn’t have been more wrong about what was coming. This salad is absolutely fantastic. It’s almost exactly like my favorite, my mom’s creamy cucumber salad, with the addition of roasted beets. And those beets are what take this from being a good salad to being a truly amazing one. This roasted beet and dill cucumber salad is one for the books. One to make again and again, and be darned happy serving it too.

Make this salad (and double or triple it) and take it to your next family get-together and people will be asking you for the recipe. You don’t have to tell them how easy it is to make unless you want to!

A Fantastic Taste Combination

This roasted beet and dill cucumber salad is a great fall dish and is perfect with a Thanksgiving turkey. I love the creaminess of the dressing with the cool crisp cucumbers, followed by that great earthy beet flavor, with a hint of sweetness and smoke from roasting them. I roasted them over a grill, but you could roast them in an oven as well.

Get a good set of grill tools for these beets and anything else you grill. You won’t regret the extra few bucks they cost over the cheap ones that you’re going to have to replace in a few years. I have had several sets of Weber tools for decades and have yet to replace a single one.

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Dill-Icious

I often have to substitute dried dill for fresh because it can be hard to find. And in some recipes, that’s ok. This recipe does best with the fresh stuff, for sure. I’d steer away from using dried unless you really, really have to. Use one teaspoon at most, and give it time to ‘soften up’ in the sour cream.

Also try my roasted vegetable stuffed mushrooms.

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5 from 1 vote

Roasted Beet and Dill Cucumber Salad

You could’ve just knocked me over with a feather. Silly me, having low expectations for a salad with roasted beets, dill and cucumber. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Course Side

Cuisine American

Keyword beets, cucumber, dill, salad

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 10

Servings

Calories 75kcal

Author Mike

Equipment

Mixing Bowl

Ingredients

2 pounds beets trimmed Try and get beets that are roughly all the same size. Smaller beets will cook faster.
½ cup ice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar plus 2 teaspoons
kosher salt
ground black pepper
1 cucumber sliced thin
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon dill fresh, chopped

Instructions

Fire up your grill for high-heat direct cooking. You want to get your grill to 450 F or higher. Alternatively, you can roast the beets in the oven set to 450 F.
Place the beets on a large piece of aluminum foil.
Add the ice and seal the foil tightly.
Place over direct heat and cook for 45 minutes or until the beets are fairly tender when poked with a knife or skewer.
Remove beets from grill and carefully open the foil.
Let cool slightly then remove the skin from the beets and slice.
Place beets in a medium bowl with the oil, 1 tablespoon of the vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir gently to combine.
In another bowl, gently combine the cucumber, remaining 2 teaspoons of vinegar, sour cream, dill, and salt and pepper to taste.
Serve by placing beets on a dish, then add the cucumbers on top.

Notes

You can substitute 2 teaspoons dried dill for the fresh.

Nutrition

Nutritional values are approximate.

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