Beets

Roasted Garlic Beets

2 lbs oven roasted beets, cut the ends of the beets and roast in oven in a small amount of water for 60 minutes at 375 or until a fork easily pierces the beet. Once roasted, peel and cut the beets into bite sized pieces.

Add 1 clove minced garlic
2 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Tbs Ume Plum or Red Wine Vinegar

Mix, Chill and enjoy!

Beetroot, Cucumber and Mint Salad

Ingredients:

1 large (400g) green cucumber
1 teaspoon coarse cooking salt
4 medium (700g) fresh beetroot
1 medium (170g) red onion
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves
1 teaspoon finely granted lemon rind
1/2 cup (125ml) lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

1. Peel, seed, and finely chop cucumber. Place cucumber in colander and sprinkle with salt; let mixture stand 15 minutes.

2. Peel and grate trimmed beetroot. Chop onion finely.

3. Rinse cucumber under cold water; drain on absorbent paper.

4. Combine cucumber, beetroot, onion, mint, rind, juice, and sugar in large bowl.

From Plan B Organics.

Golden Beets and Sunflower Salad

To maximize the flavor of this salad, toss the beets with the dressing while they’re still warm, so they’ll absorb more of it. Sunflower seeds turn rancid fairly quickly, so it’s important to purchase them from a place with high turnover, such as a natural foods store.

1 lb medium golden beets (with greens)
1/4 cup raw (not roasted) sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
1 1/4 tablespoons cider vinegar
pinch salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 oz sunflower sprouts or baby mesclun (3 cups)

Directions:

Put oven racks in lower third and middle of oven and preheat oven to 425°F.

Trim beet greens, leaving 1 inch of stems attached. Tightly wrap beets together in double layers of foil to make packages (2 or 3 per package) and roast in middle of oven until tender, 40 to 45 minutes. Unwrap beets and cool slightly.

While beets roast, toast sunflower seeds in a pie plate or a small baking pan in lower third of oven, shaking occasionally, until seeds are golden, about 10 minutes.

Whisk together shallot, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar in a small bowl, then add oil in a stream, whisking.

When beets are cool enough to handle, slip off and discard skins. Cut beets lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices and gently toss with 3 tablespoons vinaigrette in a bowl.

Toss sunflower sprouts and half of sunflower seeds with remaining vinaigrette in another bowl. Arrange beets on 6 salad plates and top with dressed sprouts. Sprinkle salads with remaining sunflower seeds.

Cooks’ note:

Beets can be roasted, sliced, and dressed 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.

Makes 3 servings.

Herb, Feta & Beet Salad

by Daphne Zepos

This is a composed salad with four parts: beets, feta, herbs, and a very simple vinaigrette. The four elements only meet at the last minute on the plate. Serves four.

Ingredients

For the vinaigrette:

Kosher salt to taste
2 tsp. red-wine vinegar
3 Tbs. walnut oil or pecan oil

For the beets:

1-1/2 lb. red beets (3 to 4 medium)
2 Tbs. red-wine vinegar

For the herb salad:

Tarragon leaves picked from 2 fresh sprigs (2 Tbs.)
8 fresh chives, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2 Tbs.)
Marjoram leaves picked from 1 fresh sprig (1 tsp.)
2 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
1/2 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley (1/2 cup packed)
1/4 bunch fresh chervil
3 cups mesclun greens, or a mix of sliced sorrel, watercress, arugula, and mizuna

For the feta:

1/4 lb. feta, cut into 4 slabs, each about 2 inches square and 1/4 inch thick

(see “How to store feta”)

How to make To make the vinaigrette

In a small bowl, dissolve the salt in the vinegar. Whisk in the nut oil.

To prepare the beets

Wash the beets and cut off the leaves. Trim off the tough lower stems and discard any yellow or bruised leaves; wash and reserve any small, healthy leaves.

In a large saucepan or a stockpot with a steamer basket, steam the beets until a paring knife enters them easily, 30 to 45 minutes, depending on their size. Set aside until cool enough to handle but still warm. Peel the beets; the skin will pull right off. Cut them in half and then in 1/4-inch slices so you end up with half-moons. Put the beets in a bowl and splash them with the vinegar while they’re still warm. Toss with some of the vinaigrette, enough to lightly coat (save the rest for the herb salad).

To prepare the herbs

In a large bowl, combine all the herbs and greens (including any reserved beet leaves). Toss with enough vinaigrette to just lightly coat the leaves.

To compose the salad

On a large serving platter, arrange the beet half-moons. Lay the feta slabs on the beets, and then pile the herb salad on top. You could also arrange the salad in the same way on four individual serving plates.

from Fine Cooking #46, pp. 53-58