Valentine’s Salad is a perfect starter for a romantic dinner, it’s an earthy and colourful salad with roasted beets, strawberries, Roquefort cheese, sunflower seeds and arugula topped with aged balsamic vinegar for a romance in style.
If there is something I like about blogging recipes is to choose a name for my recipes. This one was a no-brainer… just had a quick look at it and it’s clearly a romantic-looking salad and Valentine’s day is coming up so ‘Valentine’s Salad’ seemed appropriate.
Plating style
Since we are all having different eating habits and different partners… I’ve done 2 plating designs for this salad, one really light and modern with the beets being cut into squares in a minimalist presentation with just a few arugula leaves. I’ve used balsamic cream to decorate the plate.
The other version (see below) is a more everyday life salad, maybe a tad less aesthetic but filled with arugula and a bigger portion with lots of aged balsamic vinegar. Also, I’ve added small pearled onions marinated in balsamic vinegar, those taste fantastic, almost like caramels. It’s a product you’ll find only in Italian delicacy shops. Both salad styles have the same ingredients, the plating is just a question of preference because, in the end, they both taste equally dreamy!
Romantic Roquefort
If you ask me “which cheese screams romance?” I’ll answer “Roquefort” right away. Roquefort is, in my opinion, one of the sexiest cheeses out there, I can not put exactly the finger on it though as to why… Maybe it’s because it’s a bold sharp flavoured cheese just like passion is… or maybe it’s in its texture: creamy and soft or maybe the legend about how the cheese got discovered. A young shepherd boy eating his lunch in a cave in the South of France when suddenly he saw a young lady and just pursued her (not the creepy way hopefully…) and a few weeks later he came back and his cheese became blue from the special flora of the cave resulting into “Roquefort”.
The Art of Salad
By definition, a salad is a mix of ingredients, and making sense of a “mix of ingredients” isn’t always so simple. For this particular salad every single element is complementing the next; for example; beets are so earthy, they need an acidic and salty element to counterbalance them so the balsamic vinegar and the salty Roquefort are perfect for it. Roquefort has a sharp tang that can overwhelm but with the sweetness of the strawberry no worries here… arugula is bringing this light spicy touch and crunch to the dish…and on and on. But in the end, it’s all about having a general harmony which is what makes a salad stands out and a couple also.
Variations
I thought strawberries were the ultimate fruit for Valentine’s day but you could use other fruits to pair this salad with; raspberries would be great or blueberries. The choice of lettuce also can easily change to whatever you fancy. If you are not certain your partner is a blue cheese lover, try it out with fresh goat cheese maybe? This salad is highly adaptable to your taste.
Valentine’s Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pre-roasted beetroot
- 10 strawberries
- 2 cups arugula
- 3 tbsp roquefort cheese (crumbled)
- 1 tbsp sunflower seeds (optional)
- 1 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar (or balsamic cream)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- balsamic marinated mini onions (optional)
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Simply cut the beets in a square (modern way) and cut 3mm thick slices with the mandoline (keep the sides for later use).
- Add to the bottom of the plate the sliced beetroots.
- Add the strawberries, arugula, sunflower seeds, *pearled onions and crumbled Roquefort cheese.
- Drizzle with aged balsamic vinegar, then olive oil, salt and pepper.
28 Comments
That is one gorgeous salad. I have never tried roquefort cheese before, it sounds interesting. But now that you mention that it is the sexiest cheese out there. I think i’ll be on the lookout for it now 😉
Try it out and let me know if it’s a sexy cheese;)
I wish I had a talent for naming recipes – such a struggle for me. This is perfect – name, flavours, photos – JUST PERFECT!
Thanks!
All I can say is wow! When I think I’ve seen it all then I come across a good Salad like this. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen or used roquefort cheese before. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Fred!
Lovely pics. Crisp and clean. Loved that pour shot and the recipe looks pretty simple to do. I’ll try.
Thanks! Let me know how you find it!
Beautiful colors that are perfect for Valentine’s Day!! Nice salad to serve before the main entree!!
Thanks!
I have never had this salad. You can never go wrong with strawberries a great balsamic vinegar. Perfect way to start the meal….for any occasion.
Thanks Gloria!
How beautiful is this?! A delicious celebration meal that won’t pile on the pounds. I love it!
I love the slicing of the beets – it really adds elegance to the entire dish. I love that you have given considerable thought to the sexiest cheese! I had to smile because it’s the type of thing I would have given a great deal of thought about. Great post!
Thanks Leslie-Anne!
What a beautiful salad, a good balsamic vinegar really makes a difference, I’ll be on the look out for those pearled onions in balsamic. I love the story of Roquefort, it’s the perfect choice for a Valentine’s salad.
Glad that you agree with me for the roquefort!;)
I’m not really crazy about beets but this salad is gorgeous! I love the use of roquefort. Blue cheese makes everything better!
including beets;)
This salad contains my favorites things – arugula, balsamic, seeds and cheese. Very creative and really pretty plating 🙂
Thanks!
It is such a pretty looking salad and has everything in it that I love!
Thanks!
I can’t wait to try this!! It looks so good!!
I saw this beautiful plated salad on Instagram and have been dying to find out what those squares were! I agree that salads should be thoughtful. This one is both gorgeous and well considered. Wonderful flavors all around!
Thanks!
Oh my, strawberries and blue cheese sounds like a perfect match! This will end up on our table in the near future – both hubby and I are big on salads too 😀 I have to admit though… while hubby loves roquefort and it’s italian and british counterparts, I, try as I might, can’t get myself to like the “blue” part of it… /sigh, some sort of cheese lover I am, huh. I think I’ll replace it with goat’s cheese on my plate, the whole composition sounds just too delicious to miss out on~ Thanks for the inspiration!
Sure go with goat cheese it s going to be delicious!