More Vegetable Love

I know I just did a salad post, but I have another one for you, and it's really simple (just like the other salads--can a salad be complicated?). It's also the best and most satisfying thing I've eaten in a long time. Hit the spot.

Cook up a pot of lentils. French ones--they're green and also called "le puy" lentils. They cook, at a simmer, in about 20-30 minutes. All the better if you add aromatics to flavor them--carrot, celery, onion, bay leaf, garlic.

Now, roast some beets. Red or gold, either one. Or both. Cut them into cubes--not tiny cubes--about the size of dice. Roast at 400 with salt and oil until they get soft and a little crispy on the outside.

Make a balsamic vinaigrette. Don't think too hard about it because you've got lots of flavors going on here to begin with. Toss spinach in the vinaigrette.

Pile the spinach on your plate. Top with lentils. Scatter beets over the top of the lentils. Scatter goat cheese over top of the beets. Or have the goat cheese on toasts on the side.

Perfection.