Hello everyone,

I simply love candied pecans! Each little treasure is its own little special bundle of joy that gleefully explodes with wonderful crunch and sweetness when you bite down. You can’t go wrong when you cook something in butter and sugar.

Candied nuts are a perfect touch for many salads. If you have a salad with a sweeter dressing, such as a balsamic vinegar dressing, then adding candied pecans is a great way to make your salad even better.

My mom made this salad a while back for a lovely dinner party. The salad looked so nice on its plate so I asked my mom to snap a picture for future blogging purposes. Today, it is the future.

Arugula, roasted beets, goat cheese, avocado, dried cranberries and a balsamic vinaigrette come together in a delightful combination. Oh yeah, and the candied pecans are really the cherry on top!

This salad makes a lovely starter plated for a dinner party, or serve in a bowl for the main course.

I included a simple recipe for candied pecans to go with this salad. There are many more complicated ways of doing this, but I like this method as it only takes a few minutes, uses a few ingredients and is delicious!

Thanks for the recipe mom!

Bon appetit,

Julie

Click here to view printable Word version of recipe:
Arugula Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Candied Pecans
Candied Pecans

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Arugula Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Candied Pecans
Inspired by Giada De Laurentiis from the Food Network

SALAD INGREDIENTS

6 cups arugula
3 medium beets, roasted and cubed (see directions below)
1 avacado, diced
½ cup candied pecans, coarsely chopped (see directions below)
¼ cup dried cranberries
½ cup goat cheese, crumbled

DRESSING INGREDIENTS

¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 shallot, minced
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all dressing ingredients

DIRECTIONS

This salad works best plated

1. Divide arugula onto 4-6 plates
2. Add beets, avocado.
3. Sprinkle with candied pecans, dried cranberries and crumbled goat cheese
4. Drizzle with dressing

 

Roasted Beets

INGREDIENTS

Beets
Olive Oil
Tin Foil

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Wash beets and remove top and bottom
3. Baste beets in olive oil and wrap in tin foil. You can wrap them all together in one large piece, or individually
4. Put on a baking sheet and bake at 375 for 1 hr 15 min (Bake for 1hr 30 min for large beets)
5. Remove from oven and let cool
6. Once beets are cool enough to handle, it is easy to remove the skin. I like to do this under running water in the sink.

Candied Pecans

INGREDIENTS

1.5 cups pecan halves
¼ cup butter
¼ cup brown sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat pan, on medium
2. Add butter and melt.
3. Add pecans and mix to coat in butter.
4. Add brown sugar.
5. Cook until sugar caramelizes.
6. Remove nuts from pan and cool on parchment paper.