Strawberry Balsamic & Black Pepper Jam and Roasted Beet Salad.

Roasted Beet Salad, Watercress, Goat Cheese, Pine Nut and Strawberry Balsamic and Black Pepper Jam.

Ingredients:

1 Each medium sized Yellow and Red Beets

3 oz goat cheese

1 tbsp pine nuts

¼ cup watercress

1 tbsp Pascale’s Strawberry Balsamic and Black Pepper jam

1 tbsp neutral oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

Cut 2 squares of tin foil big enough to wrap each beet.  Drizzle each beet with oil and season liberally with salt (will add flavor and make it easy to peel later), seal them inside the tin foil as airtight as possible.  Bake in your oven at 400 degrees for 45 to an hour, test with a toothpick or skewer, you should be able to insert with little to no resistance.   When they are cooked, remove the tin foil and while still hot rub off the skin of the beets with paper towel.   Quickly cut them and again while still warm toss with the Pascale’s Jam and allow to cool.  Arrange beets and watercress in a bowl, garnish with goat cheese and pine nuts, drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Chef Jesse Pita IG: chefjessepita

Born and raised as New Yorker, growing up in Long Island just outside of Queens.  After discovering my passion for the food and beverage industry working at local restaurants in High School, decide to attended the Culinary Institute of America, where I received my bachelor's degree.  At the age of 22  I moved to Maui, Hawaii where I worked in various award winning restaurants for approximately 13 years, until recently relocating with my wife to South Florida, becoming one of the opening Chef De Cuisine at The Ben Hotel in West Palm Beach.