Roasted Beets for Summer/ Sweet & Sour Baltic Beet Salad

Favorite beet pairings

Beets + citrus+ goat cheese+ olive oil + shallots
Beets + orange zest+ crème fraiche+ horseradish
Beets + gorgonzola+ hazelnuts+ vinegar+ apple
Beets + dill+ sour cream
Beets + goat cheese+ toasted walnuts

Pair beets with strong flavors
Biting
horseradish, chili, ginger, mustard
Acid
balsamic or fruit vinegars, citrus fruits
Spicy
Sichuan pepper, curry, caraway
Salty
olives, cheeses, capers, anchovies
Sweet/spicy
​cloves, cinnamon, anise seeds, peppercorns

Sweet and sour Beet Salad

Enough for 10-12 beet lovers (Baltic Inspired)
Svyoklaz Kislo-Sladkoy Pripravoy
    
    I brought this salad to the wedding of my friend Michal and her new husband Michael, blessings on you both.

​First roast 4 pounds of red beets with skins on until fork tender, peel the beets and dice evenly. SAVE THE BEET JUICES FROM ROASTING.
They are the kicker ingredient.
I roast beets in the slow cooker, wrapped up in parchment paper--on high for 4 hours.

The Dressing 
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/4 cup sugar (dark whole cane)
1/8 cup honey
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
1/2 cup reserved beet juices from roasting
2-3 tablespoons horseradish sauce
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1/2 cup walnut oil
salt to taste--taste and adjust for sweet and sour balance

Mix all ingredients together and then whisk or process the oil in a thin stream until the dressing is emulsified.

Pour dressing over beets, mix in and let sit at least two hours--to several days.
With Love Enjoy

A beet recipe to share

Orange Zest Roasted Beets w/ Horseradish Whipped Cream
Heat oven to 425F.
Put parchment paper on a cookie sheet
Peel four medium large beets and cut into a medium dice and put on the cookie sheet.
Drizzle with walnut oil, salt, one tablespoon orange zest, and sherry vinegar.
Rub into beets with hands coating all surfaces
Roast for 20 minutes, stir and continue to roast at 15 minute intervals, stirring at each until the beets are tender approx. 50-60 min.
While the beets are roasting make the horseradish whipped cream
One cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
Juice from ½ lemon
Two heaping teaspoons prepared horseradish or to taste
Salt to taste
Whip cream in food processor or by hand. Be careful not to over whip.
Fold in other ingredients after cream is whipped. Taste and adjust flavors.
Serve whipped cream with roasted beets

​

Beets are a cooks delight

    In my 1970’s childhood I never saw the silky tops of beets grow, or pulled their ruby flesh from the ground, but ate them only once, mushy and metallic from a can, and they became my ultimate Yuk Food.
    In the 1980’s as a passionate gardener I came across a description for Chioggia ( Kee-oh-ja) beets, named after the Italian region. I was transfixed by this dramatic two- toned beet with concentric, candy striped circles of crimson and white and immediately ordered seed.
I was so proud to grow and serve those beets and they tasted sweet divine. They were a way into my love affair with beets.
    The wild beet originated along the North African coastline and like many vegetables they were cultivated by the ancient Romans and then spread throughout Northern Europe by the tribes who invaded Rome.
    The modern beet ( beta vulgaris) belongs to the same plant family as chard and spinach ( Chenopodiaceae).  They are rich in calcium, iron, magnesium,phosphorus, as well as carotene, B-complex and vitamin C.
​Beets are known for their liver strengthening properties and have long been valued as a blood tonic.
    Beets are a cook's delight. I love to surprise those who dislike beets with how wonderfully they taste when properly prepared. They have a sweet heating quality, and they friend exceptionally well a range of flavors like--  apple, basil, butter, caraway seeds, goat cheese, Parmesan, Roquefort, dill, garlic, honey, horseradish, lemon, Dijon mustard, sour cream, tarragon, vinegars especially balsamic and fruit, walnuts, walnut oil and yogurt.

Two European beetways 

    The French, make a raw grated beet salad with a dressing of balsamic vinegar, pepper, salt, olive oil, paper thin shallot slices and toasted cumin seeds.

    Italians, bake beets in their skins in a 400F oven in a casserole dish for 1 ½ to 2 hours until tender but firm when prodded with a fork. This makes them intense and mouth filling sweet. Pull off their skins while still warm and cut into slices. Toss with liberal olive oil, salt and a dash of vinegar.

Beet Kvass

In the Ukraine they make a tonic lacto fermented drink called Beet Kvass. It promotes regularity, aids the digestion, alkalizes the blood and cleanses the liver! Here's the American version I make all the time, can't get enough of it.
 I also make this recipe using only beet peelings and it works great. Good way to use peelings, sometimes I stick in cabbage cores. 

Peel and roughly chop three medium beets
Put them in a ½ gallon jar
Add one tablespoon of sea salt
Add filtered water to fill the jar.
Stir well and cap lightly
Keep at room temp. for 2-3 days or until slightly sour and bubbly.
Strain and refrigerate. Sip Slowly and Enjoy.
It's so good I just bought beets yesterday to make some,

Beetniks
Try wrapping beet stems and leaves in separate parchments with oil and salt, and roasting in slow cooker with a batch of beets, melty braised.