Beets
Beets often get no love. Why not? They're beautiful. See?
Show some beet love, with recipes within!
Roast Beets, in general
Get whole beets, usually with leaves still attached, and sold as bundles of three or four. Trim the greens off leaving about a half an inch stem on the beet. The greens are excellent cooked and I recommend sauteeing them after a light blanching with some chili oil, garlic and sesame seeds.
The beets themselves should be washed thoroughly, but gently, making sure not to burst the skin. Yes, there will be little hairy roots still left on, as well as the 'tail', but that's fine.
Place whole beets and about a quarter inch of water into a baking pan and cover tightly with foil. Roast in a 400 degree oven for about 45 min to an hour, until a knife slid into the beet meets no resistance. If your beets are undercooked, they will be bitter, end of story, so don't short the time because you're in a hurry.
Remove the beets from the oven and pan, setting them on a plate to cool for about 15 minutes so you can handle them easily. If you don't mind red hands, continue on, but I do recommend some thin gloves to protect skin that doesn't de-pink easily. Slice off the 'tail' and top, discard. With fingers, gently slough off the skin of the beet. If beets are properly cooked, the skin will slide right off with only a little pressure, just like magic, taking all the hairy rootlets with it.
When beets are completely peeled, slice into bite size pieces and while still hot sprinkle with a small amount of kosher salt [what I use, but mileage may vary and don't get hung up on having this particular kind of salt] and a few dashes of a mild vinegar, something that will work well in the final recipe. You do this to minimize the bitter and to bring out the sweet, a bit of chemistry to 'bloom' the beets, as it were.
My personal favorite is pinot grigio vinegar, a mild white wine vinegar with a good aroma, but you could use any of the red wine vinegars or even balsamic if that's what would taste good. I've used cider vinegar as well, but stay away from the plain 'white' vinegar used for pickling or easter egg dyeing. It's too harsh and instead of bringing out and highlighting the natural sugars in the beets, it will make them taste metallic, which is so not good eats.
Toss beets lightly and cover, refrigerating for at least an hour or so, or until you get around to making the rest of the dish.
There you go, the basic Roast-a-Beet. After this, you can do many things with them. My personal favorites are served with smoked trout and creme fraiche with chives, diced small with apples and sweet onions served on endive, pureed with blue cheese and topped with Parmesan then baked in ramekins, as well as what I made the other night and described below.
Beets with Black Grapes in a Shallot Vinaigrette
3 medium beets, roasted and prepared as above
1.5 cups of sliced black sweet grapes, seeds removed if necessary [I've done this with red grapes, too, but green are too bright tasting]
Toss with shallot vinaigrette:
3 T olive oil
1.5 T red wine vinegar, I used Cabernet Sauvignon because it was in my cupboard, but you could use the same vinegar that you used to mellow your beets when you roasted them
juice of 1 lemon, ~ 1 T
1 t. kosher salt
1 t. fresh cracked pepper
1 t. dijon mustard
1 shallot lobe, shaved by a microplane grater.
Add all ingredients to a small jar, shake vigorously to emulsify. The reason you shave the shallots as opposed to dicing them is to make them completely disappear into the dressing. When you're done shaking, you should see a fairly uniform liquid. Pour about half the dressing on the beets and grapes and toss, checking coverage. You should never add too much dressing to anything, just enough that everything's covered and not puddling on the bottom of the bowl. Add more if needed. Let sit 30 min or so to have the flavors settle out. Serve with crusty bread and good hard cheese, like Manchego, Gruyere, or Gouda.
What if you don't want to roast your beets? Raw beets can be yummy, too.
Shredded Raw Beet Slaw
Two medium beets, peeled and shredded (I use a food processor for this, because of the beet staining.)
Juice of two medium oranges
Zest of one orange
1 shallot lobe, thinly sliced
Six basil leaves, chiffonaded
Splash of pinot grigio vinegar
White pepper and salt to taste
Toss all to combine and let sit in the fridge for a few hours before serving.
Show some beet love, with recipes within!
Roast Beets, in general
Get whole beets, usually with leaves still attached, and sold as bundles of three or four. Trim the greens off leaving about a half an inch stem on the beet. The greens are excellent cooked and I recommend sauteeing them after a light blanching with some chili oil, garlic and sesame seeds.
The beets themselves should be washed thoroughly, but gently, making sure not to burst the skin. Yes, there will be little hairy roots still left on, as well as the 'tail', but that's fine.
Place whole beets and about a quarter inch of water into a baking pan and cover tightly with foil. Roast in a 400 degree oven for about 45 min to an hour, until a knife slid into the beet meets no resistance. If your beets are undercooked, they will be bitter, end of story, so don't short the time because you're in a hurry.
Remove the beets from the oven and pan, setting them on a plate to cool for about 15 minutes so you can handle them easily. If you don't mind red hands, continue on, but I do recommend some thin gloves to protect skin that doesn't de-pink easily. Slice off the 'tail' and top, discard. With fingers, gently slough off the skin of the beet. If beets are properly cooked, the skin will slide right off with only a little pressure, just like magic, taking all the hairy rootlets with it.
When beets are completely peeled, slice into bite size pieces and while still hot sprinkle with a small amount of kosher salt [what I use, but mileage may vary and don't get hung up on having this particular kind of salt] and a few dashes of a mild vinegar, something that will work well in the final recipe. You do this to minimize the bitter and to bring out the sweet, a bit of chemistry to 'bloom' the beets, as it were.
My personal favorite is pinot grigio vinegar, a mild white wine vinegar with a good aroma, but you could use any of the red wine vinegars or even balsamic if that's what would taste good. I've used cider vinegar as well, but stay away from the plain 'white' vinegar used for pickling or easter egg dyeing. It's too harsh and instead of bringing out and highlighting the natural sugars in the beets, it will make them taste metallic, which is so not good eats.
Toss beets lightly and cover, refrigerating for at least an hour or so, or until you get around to making the rest of the dish.
There you go, the basic Roast-a-Beet. After this, you can do many things with them. My personal favorites are served with smoked trout and creme fraiche with chives, diced small with apples and sweet onions served on endive, pureed with blue cheese and topped with Parmesan then baked in ramekins, as well as what I made the other night and described below.
Beets with Black Grapes in a Shallot Vinaigrette
3 medium beets, roasted and prepared as above
1.5 cups of sliced black sweet grapes, seeds removed if necessary [I've done this with red grapes, too, but green are too bright tasting]
Toss with shallot vinaigrette:
3 T olive oil
1.5 T red wine vinegar, I used Cabernet Sauvignon because it was in my cupboard, but you could use the same vinegar that you used to mellow your beets when you roasted them
juice of 1 lemon, ~ 1 T
1 t. kosher salt
1 t. fresh cracked pepper
1 t. dijon mustard
1 shallot lobe, shaved by a microplane grater.
Add all ingredients to a small jar, shake vigorously to emulsify. The reason you shave the shallots as opposed to dicing them is to make them completely disappear into the dressing. When you're done shaking, you should see a fairly uniform liquid. Pour about half the dressing on the beets and grapes and toss, checking coverage. You should never add too much dressing to anything, just enough that everything's covered and not puddling on the bottom of the bowl. Add more if needed. Let sit 30 min or so to have the flavors settle out. Serve with crusty bread and good hard cheese, like Manchego, Gruyere, or Gouda.
What if you don't want to roast your beets? Raw beets can be yummy, too.
Shredded Raw Beet Slaw
Two medium beets, peeled and shredded (I use a food processor for this, because of the beet staining.)
Juice of two medium oranges
Zest of one orange
1 shallot lobe, thinly sliced
Six basil leaves, chiffonaded
Splash of pinot grigio vinegar
White pepper and salt to taste
Toss all to combine and let sit in the fridge for a few hours before serving.