Finally, beets that enticeSunday, September 6, 2009 I'm not as much of an adventurous eater as most people think. I love to try new foods and develop my taste memory, but when I have something that just tastes plain bad, my inner child emerges. Take beets, for example. I've had to consume a lot of simple roasted sweet potatoes, leeks and parsnips to erase the memories of the garish dark pink salads of my youth. For years, my taste buds seemed seared by the flavors of mouth-puckering mishmash of canned beets and sliced onions pickled with white vinegar and served at church potlucks. My horizons didn't expand at home, either. Like so many who come across an unfamiliar vegetable at the market and are at a loss as to what to do with it, my mother was the same way with beets. Her one and only encounter cooking them left a stained cutting board. The result of her efforts tasted like dirt. Beets came onto my food radar as an adult when I watched a friend prepare them by boiling, easily peeling off the skin under cold, running water, slicing, then tossing them with orange zest and a sprinkling of bottled balsamic vinaigrette. I couldn't resist sampling the deep garnet slice glistening with oil and specks of orange. Then I tried Eric Gower's twist on the beet salad from his cookbook "The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen" (Kodansha International, 2003). This recipe uses the savory beet tops, which add texture and color to the dish. If you're like me, you'll appreciate the extra vitamins and fiber. But it's the play of flavors - the tang of citrus and the bite of ginger with the richness of the nuts and buttery sweetness of beets - that entices. Beet Salad with Ginger, Pecans & Orange ZestServes 4 as side dish, 2 as an appetizer Eric Gower's recipe calls for smoked trout. In my adaptation, I skip the fish, use pecans instead of walnuts, and add orange zest. Try to find beets with greens intact. This time of year you can substitute Swiss chard. If you don't like the look of the greens mixed with the beets, Eric suggests placing the leaves in the center of a large plate and surrounding them with the beets.
Instructions: Fill a pot with enough water to submerge the beets and bring to a boil. Cut the stems and leaves from the beets and set aside. Place beets in the pot and simmer over medium-low heat until tender when pierced with a fork, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small saucepan. Add ginger and shallots and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove the cooked beets with a slotted spoon (leaving the cooking water in the pot), rinse under cold water and slip off the skins. Cut the beets into 1-inch pieces and place in a bowl. Add another tablespoon of the olive oil, 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar, the ginger-shallot mixture, the orange juice, orange zest and salt and pepper to taste and toss lightly. Simmer the leaves in the hot red water for 3 minutes. Remove and rinse, squeezing out as much water from the greens as possible. Chop the greens into inch-long pieces, drizzle on the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and tablespoon of the vinegar, and toss lightly. Toast the pecans for a few minutes in a dry skillet. Right before serving, lightly mix together the beets and greens and top the salad with the pecans. Per serving: 140 calories, 1 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, 13 g fat (2 g saturated), 0 cholesterol, 20 mg sodium, 1 g fiber. Wine pairing: The not-too-acidic dressing accentuates the sweet, slightly earthy beets. Select a red wine like Chinon or Beaujolais, which won't overpower the dish. Linda Furiya is the author of "How to Cook a Dragon" (Seal Press, 2009). E-mail her at food@sfchronicle.com. This article appeared on page L - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle |
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