Eric enjoys eating fresh beets, so I try to grow them every year in the garden. I haven’t quite gotten the growing down yet, but I keep trying. We usually end up buying beets from the grocery store or farmer’s markets when we come across beet recipes we want to try. Beets are beginning to grow on me, although Eric is way fonder of them than I am. Two beet recipes that we tried recently were big hits with Eric. And I liked them.
On a trip to New Mexico in 2012, Eric & I ate in the tapas restaurant, La Boca, on 2 consecutive nights. Thrilled with the food, we bought the chef’s latest cookbook and gave it to Kelly as a gift. We used España for a number of different recipes while Kelly & the cookbook lived here with us. (See Spain on a Plate for a previous post of a Chef Caruso recipe.) Knowing that she would be moving out and taking her cookbook with her, Kelly bought me the first of Chef Caruso’s cookbooks, from his days as Executive Chef at El Farol Restaurant in Santa Fe. Eric picked a beet recipe to try out first.
Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese Dressing (adapted from El Farol: Tapas and Spanish Cuisine by Chef James Campbell Caruso) Makes 4 servings
For the dressing: (Makes 1 cup)
- 1/2 cup (3.5 ounces) goat cheese
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 dried serrano chile, chopped
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 green onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
For the beets:
- 1 pound fresh beets
- 1/2 cup sherry vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled & thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon kosher slat
- 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
Put together the dressing first so it has time to chill. Combine the goat cheese, milk, chile pepper, olive oil, lime juice, green onion, garlic and black pepper into the cup of a wand blender, a food processor or a regular blender and puree until smooth. Chill for 1 hour while preparing the beets.
The dressing goes together very quickly.
Preheat the oven to 425°. Wash the beets well and trim off the greens. (The greens can be saved for another use.) Cut the beets into bite size wedges without peeling and place them in a large bowl. Add the vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt & peppers, tossing it all together to coat the beets.
The beets are ready for roasting!
Transfer the beets to a baking sheet, cover them with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Allow the beets to cool for 10 minutes. Transfer them to a serving dish and spoon the goat cheese dressing over the top.
Another wonderful dish from Chef James Campbell Caruso.
Eric may convert me into a beet lover yet! ~Linda
Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese Dressing (adapted from El Farol: Tapas and Spanish Cuisine by Chef James Campbell Caruso) Makes 4 servings
For the dressing: (Makes 1 cup)
- 1/2 cup (3.5 ounces) goat cheese
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 dried serrano chile, chopped
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 green onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
For the beets:
- 1 pound fresh beets
- 1/2 cup sherry vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled & thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon kosher slat
- 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
Put together the dressing first so it has time to chill. Combine the goat cheese, milk, chile pepper, olive oil, lime juice, green onion, garlic and black pepper into the cup of a wand blender, a food processor or a regular blender and puree until smooth. Chill for 1 hour while preparing the beets.
Preheat the oven to 425°. Wash the beets well and trim off the greens. (They can be saved for another use.) Cut the beets into bite size wedges without peeling and place them in a large bowl. Add the vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt & peppers, tossing it all together to coat the beets. Transfer the beets to a baking sheet, cover them with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Allow the beets to cool for 10 minutes. Transfer them to a serving dish and spoon the goat cheese dressing over the top.