Beet & Goat Cheese Napoleons

Last Friday, The Curley's invited a few of us over to help eat up some leftover veggies they had from their farm share. Maegen introduced us all to Beet & Goat Cheese Napoleons, a recipe she found on a blog titled, "Eggs on Sunday." They looked just splendid with their cute little beet hats and tasted even better. They were a great start to our summer meal. Thanks Maegen!

Ingredients

4 medium beets, greens trimmed off and reserved (leave about 1 inch of stem on the beet)

a 4-ounce log of goat cheese (you may not use it all)

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 bunch (a handful) of chives

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the beets on a large rectangle of aluminum foil and fold the sides of the foil up around the beets to form a package. Before you seal the package, put a little bit of water in the bottom of the foil with the beets. Seal the package, place on a baking sheet, and roast in the oven for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the chive oil: first, set aside a few chives to chop for garnish. In a blender or food processor, puree the rest of the chives together with the olive oil. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a container, pressing on the solids. You won’t use all the chive oil in this recipe, so you can save the remainder in the fridge.

When the beets are done, remove them from the foil and let them cool completely. You can then slip the skins off of the beets: do this carefully, so that you preserve the thin, long tails of the beets. Slice each beet across its diameter into 4 total slices (see pictures above), and set aside.

Using a sharp knife, cut 12 thin slices of goat cheese from the log, and set aside. Wash and spin dry the beet greens, then stack them (whole) on top of one another. Cut the greens crosswise into slivers, then use your fingers to gently mix the slivers together.

Make the balsamic reduction by placing the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan, bringing to a boil, turning down the heat just a bit and simmering until it’s reduced to a thicker, syrupy consistency, about 5 minutes. Keep an eye on it – it goes fast! Set aside in a small dish while you plate the napoleon and greens.

Plate the beets and greens: Divide the slivers of greens among 4 plates, piling them in the corner of each plate. Construct a napoleon on each plate by layering the slices of beets and goat cheese. Begin with a beet slice, top with a goat cheese slice, and continue alternating the remaining 3 beet slices and 2 goat cheese slices, ending the layers with the piece of beet that has the tail attached. Basically, you’re reconstructing the beet, just layering goat cheese in between the slices.

Season the beet napoleon and the greens with a little sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle the chive oil and balsamic reduction artfully over the greens and napoleon, sprinkle a few of the chopped remaining chives over the top, and serve.