Saturday, February 14, 2015

Beets, my favorite Beet recipes!

I happen to love beets and I have a Best of the Best recipe for Pickled Beets that I make often.
We get fresh beets from our local Farmers Market.
I'm an Administrator for a Cast Iron Website and we often post an ingredient and ask our followers to tell us how they use it, and they often share a recipe. The latest ingredient was Beets. Of course I mentioned Pickled Beets and so did many others. However, one person shared this recipe and I really liked it.
It's simple and it has to be delicious, if you like Beets.
I've never heard of Beets being served this way. My wife and I are on our way to the market this morning, in search of Beets!
We always have cans of Pineapple in our pantry.


Beets and Pineapple.

Thinly slice raw beet.
Heat the skillet on medium high heat and melt 2 TBS of Butter.
Add the sliced Beets with Salt and Pepper to taste.
Add 1 can of Pineapple Chinks, with the juice.
Reduce the heat to simmer, cover the skillet and allow the beets to cook until tender, stirring occasionally.

That's it!



I sliced the beets on a Mandoline.


I cut the rounds into quarters.

I didn't have Pineapple Chunks in my pantry so I used Sliced Pineapple and cut each slice into quarters.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!



Pickled Beets

I hesitated to post this recipe because I didn't know if anyone else but me would pickle beets.
We went to our local farmer's market 2 weeks ago and I bought some beets. They were quite large and I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them.
I decided to pickle them and I'm glad I did. These are the best tasting beets I have ever eaten.

There were about 4 - 5 beets in various sizes and a few were large. I peeled them and quartered some and made large slices with some of them. I recommend just buying some fresh beets at a farmer's market, if you can, make the brine and use all of it, making sure to cover the beets completely. I added some slices of onion to the jar too.

I peeled them and put them in a pot of boiling water. Boiled them for a few minutes, reduced the heat and simmered them for about 30 minutes, until tender yet still had some texture.

Brine:

In a saucepan:
2 C white vinegar
2 C water
2 C sugar
1 tsp allspice, whole or ground ( I used ground)
1 tsp clove, whole or ground ( I used whole)
1 TBS ground cinnamon
Whisk well to incorporate the cinnamon

Boil until sugar has completely melted
Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes
Remove and pour over beets and onions in jars ( I let the brine cool a bit before pouring it into the jars.

Refrigerate for 2 weeks

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!











Beet Sliders with Green Goddess Dressing from Gatsby's Diner in Sacramento, California


It's difficult to find a recipes that's different when beets are the main ingredient. This was very appealing to me as a vegetarian and a fan of beets.
The recipe says to discard the liquid that the beets are cooked in. I keep the liquid to use in a soup.
I have a recipe for what I believe are the Best of the Best Pickled Beets. The recipe is on the blog. I also have a recipe on the blog for Roasted Vegetables that includes Beets.
If you haven't tried beets, I hope you do.


5 quarts water
1/2 C sea salt, plus a pinch
1 TBS dried dill
6 dried arbol chiles
1/4 C coriander seeds
1 TBS caraway seeds
1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
1/2 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
4 TBS seasoning sauce (recommended: Maggi)
6 to 8 whole beets (depending on size)
Olive oil
Green Goddess Dressing, recipe follows
Sliced red onions, for serving
16 to 18 slider buns, toasted
Directions
In a large stock pot, combine and the water, 1/2 C sea salt, dill, chiles, coriander, caraway, carrots, celery, onions, seasoning sauce, and beets and bring to a boil. Boil on medium heat for about 1 hour.

Remove the beets and let cool, discarding the liquid. Once cooled, remove the skin from the beets with a vegetable peeler. (Remember to wear gloves, as the beets will stain your hands as well as other surfaces.) Cut the beets into 1/4 to 3/8-inch slices. Place the beet slices, a drizzle of olive oil, and a pinch of sea salt into a skillet over high heat and saute until glossy and tender, about 2 1/2 minutes on each side.

Remove the beets from the skillet and serve with shaved red onion and Green Goddess Dressing on a toasted slider bun.


Green Goddess Dressing:
1 bunch fresh tarragon, stemmed, finely chopped
1/2 bunch fresh parsley, stemmed, finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
1/2 C buttermilk
1 TBS lemon juice
1/2 C white wine vinegar
1 C sour cream
2 C mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
Combine the herbs, green onions, buttermilk, lemon juice, and vinegar in a mixing bowl. Let macerate for 10 minutes. Add the sour cream and mayonnaise, and blend with an immersion blender until creamy. Season with salt and pepper.


Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!





Citrus Beet Salad


This is an incredible recipe. We are members at one of the most prestigious Art Museums in the country, The Kimball. We're fortunate to live in the Dallas Ft. Worth metroplex and be able to visit it often.
We went to the opening of Faces of Impressionism, Portraits from the Musee D 'Orsay in Paris, France. It's also one of our favorite Museums. It's our favorite museum in Paris.
We had lunch in the museum cafe yesterday and fell in love with this simple beet salad. When I looked a the Kimball Cookbook in the museum gift shop, I saw the recipe. When I was paying for the book, I told the sales associate that I was paying $30 for a salad recipe. I discovered that there are hundreds of amazing recipes in the book. I decided to post some of them, starting with the Citrus Beet Salad.

Salad:
1  - 16 oz. jar of Sliced Pickled Beets, drained
1 C thinly sliced Carrots
1/4 C thinly sliced Red Onions
1/2 C Dried Cranberries
1 C Orange sections or 1 can Mandarin Oranges, drained.
2 TBS chopped fresh Parsley

Dressing:
3 TBS Red Wine Vinegar
3 TBS Orange Marmalade
1/4 tsp Allspice
1/4 tsp Coriander
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp dried Ginger
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
1 TBS Vegetable Oil

In a large mixing bowl:
Beets
Carrots
Onions
Cranberries
Orange Segments
Parsley
Stir to combine.
Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl:
Vinegar
Marmalade
Allspice
Coriander
Cinnamon
Ginger
Vanilla
Salt
Black Pepper
Oil
Whisk well.

Pour dressing over the salad and toss well.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!





I could write a dissertation about Borscht, but I won't. I'll keep it simple. My wife grew up on a Mennonite farm, her ancestors are Russian Mennonites. Their Borscht has cabbage, potatoes, onion, tomatoes, chicken and cream at the end. I grew up with Beet Borscht served with a dollop of Sour Cream. I haven't researched the origin of the soup, but here's my version of the Borscht that I knew as a child.

Beet Borscht

1 TBS Vegetable Oil
1 small Onion, chopped
1 C of shredded Carrots
1 C of shredded Beets
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 TBS Red Wine Vinegar
1 1/2 C Beet Juice

Garnishes:
Chopped Hard Boiled Eggs
Boiled and sliced Fingerling Potatoes
1 TBS of Horseradish mixed with 1/4 C Sour Cream
Sliced Dill Pickles
Fresh Chopped Dill

In a saucepan on medium heat:
Heat the Oil.

Add:
Onion, cook 3 minutes.
Carrots, cook 3 minutes.
Beets, cook 3 minutes.
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Vinegar, cook until evaporated.
Beet Juice, mix well.

Transfer to a covered bowl and refrigerate until cold.
Ladle the Soup into individual bowls and garnish with the options listed above.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!


Roasted Root Vegetables

Here's what you'll need:
Preheat the oven to 400 degree oven
1 - Large Roasting Pan

3 Sweet Potatoes, peeled and wedged
8-12 Slender Carrots, peeled, whole
8-12 Baby Turnips, peeled, whole
8-10 Fingerling Potatoes, cleaned, skins on, cut in half lengthwise
4 Large Parsnips, peeled, cut diagonally into 1" slices
3 Medium Onions, peeled and quartered
3-4 Large Beets, peeled and wedged
1 Whole Garlic head, cloves separated and un peeled
3 sprigs of Fresh Rosemary
Coarse Sea Salt, Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Olive Oil

Place all vegetables in the pan
Drizzle generously with Olive Oil, toss by hand to coat evenly
Season with salt and pepper

Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour (stir occasionally), until all the vegetables are tender

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!












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