I found a recipe for a quick vegan cheese that I really like. The recipe says it’s a “Pepper Jack” but it reminds me a lot more of a fresh cheese like queso fresco or buffalo mozzarella. In any case, I am finding it to be quite versatile and useful on many dishes, from tacos to this beet salad. You can venture into making the vegan cheese, which will require some uncommon ingredients if you aren’t used to vegan baking or cheese making. Or use a favorite cashew cheese; some spreadable cashew cheeses would work great in between the layers of beets. Or, if you eat dairy, just use a good, organic dairy cheese like burrata or buffalo mozzarella.
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beet & fresh cheese stacks with avocado-lemon dressing
4 small beets, roasted or boiled whole and cleaned of outer
peel
4 pieces vegan jack
or other soft cheese
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
1 lemon, juiced
1 clove garlic, use more depending on
how much garlic you like
2 small bunches of herbs like basil,
mint, cilantro, or tarragon, mixed if you want
3 tsp. raw cider
vinegar
1/2 cup (or more) cold water
Sea salt &
pepper to taste
Olive oil drizzle and lemon
slices for garnish
Slice the beets and the cheese into stackable slices, as shown in
the photograph. Set aside and keep them separate so the beets don’t bleed on
the cheese.
Make the dressing by blending the avocado, lemon,
garlic, herbs, vinegar, water, salt and pepper in a food processor until it
is the consistency of a creamy dressing. I find a traditional food processor
works better for this recipe than a blender.
Spread some dressing
around the bottom of a platter or 4 separate plates. Build your salad on top
of the dressing by placing a cheese layer, then a beet, then a cheese layer,
until you have used up one beet and one piece of cheese per slice. NOTE:
Depending on what cheese you use these quantities may vary so just use your
imagination and get creative. Even a firm, spreadable cheese will work for
this. Finish the salad by placing some lemon slices along side the beet
stacks and drizzle with some olive oil. You can skip the oil drizzle and make
this an oil-free recipe. All the oil would come unrefined and naturally
through the avocado and the cheese.
beet & fresh cheese stacks with avocado-lemon dressing
Ingredients
- 4 small beets roasted or boiled whole and cleaned of outer peel
- 4 pieces vegan jack or other soft cheese
- 1 avocado peeled and pitted
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1 clove garlic use more depending on how much garlic you like
- 2 small bunches of herbs like basil, mint, cilantro, or tarragon mixed if you want
- 3 tsp. raw cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup cold water (or more)
- Sea salt & pepper to taste
- slices Olive oil drizzle and lemonfor garnish optional; see notes
Instructions
- Slice the beets and the cheese into stackable slices, as shown in the photograph. Set aside and keep them separate so the beets don't bleed on the cheese.
- Make the dressing by blending the avocado, lemon, garlic, herbs, vinegar, water, salt and pepper in a food processor until it is the consistency of a creamy dressing. I find a traditional food processor works better for this recipe than a blender.
- Spread some dressing around the bottom of a platter or 4 separate plates. Build your salad on top of the dressing by placing a cheese layer, then a beet, then a cheese layer, until you have used up one beet and one piece of cheese per slice.