I am done with winter, which was more severe this year than for many years. And even with three side trips to warmer climates – Dubai, New Orleans and Cuba – the shock of returning to Chicago’s extreme cold and snow was hard to bear. Cabin fever and a winter diet of stews, soups, chilis and curries have left me feeling sluggish. So for the past several weeks, I have been thinking about spring and lighter fare.
I recently ended up with an assortment of beets, two large logs of goat cheese (a Costco special), hazelnuts, walnuts and several nut oils. So I decided to create vibrant, differently tasting salads with these similar ingredients.
I recognize that beets are considered an exotic ingredient by some American cooks. You would think that beets would be readily available throughout the US considering the waves of immigrants from Northern European countries – Norwegians, Swedes, Danes, Germans, Poles, Lithuanians, Ukrainians, Cubans, Russians and Indians to name a few — where beets are an important ingredient in ethnic cuisine. Yet Americans do not eat beets widely and in some areas of the country, beets are unavailable unless grown in private gardens.
My husband recalls his mother, an excellent second generation Norwegian cook, serving beets only two ways – creamed and pickled, even though Norwegian cookbooks contain numerous other beet recipes. My mother, a Ukrainian immigrant cook, stuck to the three beet recipes favored in our extended family – borshch, a beets with other vegetables vinaigrette salad and beet-horseradish relish. While our maternal beet dishes were tasty, they were simply a repeat of what their mothers prepared, not particularly imaginative.
The 1964 edition of The Joy of Cooking features six recipes for the beetroot, either boiled or pickled, and two for beet greens. The 1974 revised edition of The Joy of Cooking reduced the beetroot recipes to four for baked or roasted beets, beet and potato vinaigrette, sweet and sour beets and sautéed beet greens. When asked why they don’t cook beets, some home cooks claim they find the earthy aroma of cooking beets unpleasant. Others say they do not cook with beets because of red-stained hands and utensils even though the stain washes off easily.
This lack of affinity for beets is surprising, considering the beet played an important role in European culinary culture since classical antiquity which was later imported to America with waves of settlers. The beet’s nutritional qualities were recognized at least three thousand years ago by ancient Greeks and Romans as important to survival. Beet greens (chard is a subspecies) were edible by humans and cattle. Beetroots can be stored over the winter and became an essential part of the diet, especially during the waning days of winter when food stores were depleted and a new crop had not had time to grow. Much later, food scientists identified that beets supply fiber, vitamins (rich source of B-complex vitamins such as niacin (B-3), pantothenic acid (B-5), pyridoxine (B-6) and some C), minerals (such as iron, manganese, copper, and magnesium and moderate levels of potassium) and betacyanin, a unique antioxidant, all of which are reputed to lower blood pressure and reduce LDL cholesterol.
With the reintroduction of heirloom beets such as Chioggia (candy striped or golden) a few years ago, some restaurants began limited offerings of beet dishes on their menus. Since restaurants are trend-setters, it seemed that a beet resurgence was coming. But, alas, no — beets are still regarded as quaint restaurant fare, not something you cook at home.
Here are two salads, one based on roasted beets, and the other based on pickled beets, which we enjoyed recently. Each salad is delicious in its own way. They taste surprisingly different, considering the similar ingredients. The roast beet salad is subtle: the sweetness of the roasted beets is beautifully enhanced by the nuttiness and crunchiness of hazelnuts and the creaminess of the goat cheese. The pickled beet salad has a bold, sweet-sour taste which melds well with the toasted walnuts and goat cheese
Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with Hazelnuts Dressing
3 golden beets, unpeeled and leaves trimmed with 1 inch of root
3 Chioggia beets, unpeeled and leaves trimmed within 1 inch of root
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 head butter or bibb lettuce, washed and dried
½ cup goat cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons roasted hazelnuts for garnish
Ingredients for hazelnut vinaigrette (from Martha Stewart’)
1/3 cup hazelnuts (about 1 ounce)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt
1/4 cup hazelnut oil, or light oil such as canola
Freshly ground pepper
Preheat oven to 375 °F (190° C). Scrub beets, dry, rub with 1 tablespoon olive oil and wrap individually in aluminum foil. Place on a rimmed cookie sheet and bake for 1 to 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the foil wrapped beet can be easily pierced with a skewer. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. Rub off beet skins and cut beets in equal-sized shapes.
In the meantime, prepare hazelnut vinaigrette. Reduce heat to 350° F (180° C), spread the hazelnuts on the rimmed cookie sheet. Toast in oven until skins split and flesh turns golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. While still hot, rub hazelnuts in a clean kitchen towel to remove skins (some will remain). Coarsely chop.
Heat the hazelnuts, olive oil, and shallot in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring, until shallot softens, about 2 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Stir together vinegar, lemon juice, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Whisking constantly, pour in hazelnut oil and then hazelnut mixture in a slow, steady stream; whisk until emulsified. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Just before serving, dress the lettuce leaves with a few tablespoons of the dressing and arrange lettuce on platter. Dress beets with a tablespoon of dressing and arrange on the lettuce. Top with chunks of goat cheese, adding a few more tablespoons of dressing to taste and the hazelnut garnish. Serve immediately.
Serves 2.
Pickled beets, goat cheese and walnuts salad
3 cups romaine or assorted salad greens, washed and dried
3/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
6 slices goat cheese
1 cup pickled beets, cut into slices or chunks (I used Safie Sweet Pickled Beets, 32 oz. jar, available at Costco or Amazon, but homemade will work as well.)
Dressing ingredients
1/4 cup beet pickling juice
2 tablespoons minced shallots
3 tablespoons walnut oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Spread chopped walnuts on a rimmed cookie sheet and toast for 5-8 minutes until slightly colored. Remove and cool.
Spread walnuts on a plate and roll the goat cheese rounds in the walnuts, pressing until well-coated on all sides. Set aside.
Combine all dressing ingredients, stirring with a whisk. (Can be made in advance and stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week.)
Just before serving, dress lettuce with a few tablespoons of dressing and arrange on serving platter. Distribute pickled beets and walnut-coated cheese on lettuce. Drizzle with dressing and a few drops of pickling juice. Serve immediately.
Serves 2.
