Friday, February 5, 2010

Roasted Beets

Serves 4

I’m not a huge fan of microwaves, but sometimes (times like this) I can pretty easily talk myself into using them. I roast the beets in the oven a day before, which allows for a lot less juggling the day of, and then quickly re-heat them in the nuker before dressing them with a quick vinaigrette. It’s not a super cheffy move, but it doesn’t do any harm, and makes everything a lot easier. (Of course, these are also great cold, in which case there would be no need for the microwave, but I was after hot beets this particular night.)

IMG_0753

6 small to medium beets (about a pound or so)
2 Tbl red wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp blood orange (or any kind of orange) zest
1 small shallot, peeled and finely diced
3 Tbl extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbl chives, thinly snipped
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

To roast the beets: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut off and discard the stem and tails of the beets. Wrap each beet in foil and place on a sheet pan. Roast until a toothpick can easily be poked into the center of the beets, about 1 1/2 hours. Cool. When beets are cool enough to handle, peel them and slice each into 8 wedges. At this point, the beets can be cooled and reserved (to be reheated, in the microwave and then dressed with vinaigrette when needed), dressed now with the vinaigrette and served hot, or dressed now, cooled and served cold later.

To finish: Combine the vinegar, mustard, orange zest, diced shallot, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Whisk together, and slowly pour in the olive oil, whisking as you pour. Add cooked beet slices (still hot from the oven or re-heated for about a minute or so in the microwave) and the chives, and mix to coat. Serve either hot now, or chill and serve cold later.

SERVED AT THIS DINNER PARTY

RETURN TO RECIPE LIBRARY

RETURN TO SCRUMPTIOUS COMPANY HOMEPAGE

No comments:

Post a Comment