"The beet is the most intense of vegetables. The radish, admittedly, is more feverish, but the fire of the radish is a cold fire, the fire of discontent not of passion. Tomatoes are lusty enough, yet there runs through tomatoes an undercurrent of frivolity. Beets are deadly serious."
Now that the CSA is truly underway, the pressure is on to use up all the vegetables, share them, eat them and write about the whole process.
One consistent offering each week is beets. I've never been a fan - I can't see them without thinking of dirty, hairy Pan from Jitterbug Perfume. And to be honest, they taste like dirt to me. However, from the Middle Ages forward they have been considered one of the healthiest foods out there (or, as some call it, Nature's Viagra) so I decided to combine some of my favorite things (pears, shallots, pistachios) with some roasted beets to see if I could make palatable a root that doubles as a way to dye your clothes.
A little research showed that the place to start is a roasted beet salad (though beet brownies are coming soon!). First, I weighed out my beets and then wrapped them in foil. After about 40 minutes at 400, their rock hard fibrous structure turned firm and cranberry-jelly-like. This was actually a shock to me. Every time I had seen beets at a restaurant or in a picture, I assumed they had been enhanced or pickled. Pas de tout, it turns out. Beets really are nature's answer to the saturated colors of a Helen Frankenthaler painting. Bold, deep scarlet and soft with structural integrity.The preparation after that was simple and effective. Chopped pistachios, sliced pears, and a homemade dressing made with lemons, shallots, olive oil and a good white wine vinegar. And while the beets didn't win my heart, I enjoyed them far more than I expected.
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| Tough to see the beets on a red plate - note to self! |
