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1
Place the baby spinach in a salad bowl.
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2
Add the balsamic vinaigrette and toss gently until well coated.
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3
Divide the spinach among 4 shallow bowls or salad plates.
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4
Top with the beet slices and sprinkle over the crumbled goat cheese.
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5
Serve.
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6
To prepare the beets, trim all but about 1 inch of the stems.
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7
Rinse thoroughly under cold, running water.
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8
To boil beets, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil.
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9
Add the beets and return the water to a boil.
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10
Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the beets are tender when pierced with a thin, sharp knife, about 20 minutes for small beets, about 30 minutes for medium beets, and 45 minutes to 1 hour for large beets.
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11
Drain the beets and transfer them to a bowl of ice water until cool enough to handle.
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12
To bake beets, preheat the oven to 400F.
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13
Place the beets in a small roasting pan and add 1/2 cup of water.
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14
Seal the pan tightly with foil and bake until the beets are tender when pierced with a thin, sharp knife, about 45 minutes for small beets, about 1 hour for medium beets, and about 1 1/4 hours for large beets (be careful when lifting the foil; dont get burned by the escaping hot steam).
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15
Remove the beets from the pan and let stand.
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16
When the beets are cool enough to handle, use a paring knife to trim the ends and slip off their skins.
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17
Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold.
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18
Beets retain better flavor when they are boiled or baked with their skins on, but peeling them after cooking can transfer all that beautiful color right to your hands, where it doesnt look so nice.
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19
Wear kitchen gloves when peeling and chopping beets.
