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Give beets a chance.
Dec. 17th, 2004 11:03 amSo. Have I ever told you that I used to be indifferent to beets? I did. Nasty vegetables that always taste like something artificial. Like that cranberry sauce that has the shape of the can.
( a story about the wild youth of beets )
A lot of the negative properties still associated with beets can be eliminated with proper preparation. So for your edification, a method of preparing beets that does them a great service:
First, preheat your oven to about 450 degrees F. (205 degrees C. or gas mark 6.) peel and cut three or four beets into smallish 1 to 1/2 inch dice.
Take a good foot and a half of aluminum foil, and place this in an oven-proof pan. If you are afraid of the properties of aluminum, parchment paper works nicely, but it may burn if you don't eyeball it carefully.
Put the sliced beets into the foil, and make a packet. Into the packet pour 1 to 2 Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 2 or 3 teaspoons of red wine vinegar. Optionally, I sometimes add a Tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and also optionally, a tablespoon of a nice sherry if you are afraid of all the vinegar. You could put some peeled and quartered shallots or garlic cloves in there, or sprigs of fresh herb like oregano or rosemary, but it isn't at all necessary, and I tend to stay pretty minimalist and stick with just the beets and vinegar. You do not need to add salt or pepper. Close the packet and put the pan into the oven. The packet must be carefully made to not allow the liquid to evaporate.
Roast these, for at the very minimum, 40 minutes, or until fork tender.
When the beets are done, pour the roasting liquid into a bowl, and mix with either sour cream or yogurt. This has two advantages, 1) it tastes great poured over the beets, on mashed potatoes, or the sauteed beet greens. 2) It becomes a vivid shade of fuschia that is pretty much unknown in foodstuffs without some serious food coloring, and has a nice shocking effect on the plate.
These beets will be quite vinegary, but the natural sweet nearly disgusting waxiness of beets is mellowed considerably and compliments the strong vinegar flavor perfectly. Roasting them gives them a much better texture, and really all they lack to be perfect is something to take the edge off, and the sour cream or yogurt in the sauce does this well.
I am not often a consumer of meat, and even less a consumer of beef, but this recipe, and its resulting roasting liquid, go extremely well with a good steak and potatoes. In these instances, you might even swap the yogurt or cream cheese with an exceptional Bleu Cheese (Might I recommend Point Reyes Blue Cheese?)
In any case, I hope you do try the recipe, and find beets to be a better vegetable than its checkered past paints it.
(Recipe stolen and altered from the fantastically incomparable Jamie Oliver, who made a much more high-octane version to compliment a beef carpaccio.)
( a story about the wild youth of beets )
A lot of the negative properties still associated with beets can be eliminated with proper preparation. So for your edification, a method of preparing beets that does them a great service:
First, preheat your oven to about 450 degrees F. (205 degrees C. or gas mark 6.) peel and cut three or four beets into smallish 1 to 1/2 inch dice.
Take a good foot and a half of aluminum foil, and place this in an oven-proof pan. If you are afraid of the properties of aluminum, parchment paper works nicely, but it may burn if you don't eyeball it carefully.
Put the sliced beets into the foil, and make a packet. Into the packet pour 1 to 2 Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 2 or 3 teaspoons of red wine vinegar. Optionally, I sometimes add a Tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and also optionally, a tablespoon of a nice sherry if you are afraid of all the vinegar. You could put some peeled and quartered shallots or garlic cloves in there, or sprigs of fresh herb like oregano or rosemary, but it isn't at all necessary, and I tend to stay pretty minimalist and stick with just the beets and vinegar. You do not need to add salt or pepper. Close the packet and put the pan into the oven. The packet must be carefully made to not allow the liquid to evaporate.
Roast these, for at the very minimum, 40 minutes, or until fork tender.
When the beets are done, pour the roasting liquid into a bowl, and mix with either sour cream or yogurt. This has two advantages, 1) it tastes great poured over the beets, on mashed potatoes, or the sauteed beet greens. 2) It becomes a vivid shade of fuschia that is pretty much unknown in foodstuffs without some serious food coloring, and has a nice shocking effect on the plate.
These beets will be quite vinegary, but the natural sweet nearly disgusting waxiness of beets is mellowed considerably and compliments the strong vinegar flavor perfectly. Roasting them gives them a much better texture, and really all they lack to be perfect is something to take the edge off, and the sour cream or yogurt in the sauce does this well.
I am not often a consumer of meat, and even less a consumer of beef, but this recipe, and its resulting roasting liquid, go extremely well with a good steak and potatoes. In these instances, you might even swap the yogurt or cream cheese with an exceptional Bleu Cheese (Might I recommend Point Reyes Blue Cheese?)
In any case, I hope you do try the recipe, and find beets to be a better vegetable than its checkered past paints it.
(Recipe stolen and altered from the fantastically incomparable Jamie Oliver, who made a much more high-octane version to compliment a beef carpaccio.)
