Tomato Beet Salad with Balsamic Dressing

This dish is in the run for one of the most colorful salads of all time. Just look at it! What a perfect way to show of those gorgeous heirloom tomatoes! Sungolds, Cherokee Purple, Green Zebra, Valencia...

And any number of vibrant beets.  Wouldn't chioggia beets be pretty on this platter?

This is why I love my CSA.

adapted from Martha Stewart

serves 2

The Ingredients:
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 
1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar  
3-4 small beets, scrubbed (about 1/2 lb)
2-3 large heirloom tomatoes (about 1 lb)
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
2-3 Tbsps crumbled feta
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
Salt and pepper

The Process:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

In a small jar, combine the oil and vinegar. Seal tightly and shake until well blended. 

Trim the tops and root tip off of the beets. Wrap beets in foil and bake, 50-60 minutes or until tender. Allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, rub beets with a paper towel to remove skins. Slice crosswise 1/4 inch thick. 

Slice the tomatoes, and halve cherry tomatoes.  Arrange with beets on a platter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with feta, cilantro, and drizzle with balsamic dressing. 

Chioggia Beet Chips

Fewer vegetables are as pretty as chioggia beets. Those vibrant alternating stripes of white and red. Even baked to a crisp they keep their festive look. And in chip form, even the beet haters can't help but try one. I can't say these chips will convert them, but it is a step in the right direction.

adapted from Martha Strewart

yields 3-4 servings

The Ingredients:
3-4 medium beets
1 tsp olive oil
sea salt

The Process:
Preheat the oven to 350.

Thinnly slice the beets about 1/16" thick, using a sharp knife or mandoline.  Toss beets with olive oil and arrange in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. work in batches if necessary. Sprinkle generously with salt.

Bake, 5-7 minutes and flip. Bake an additional 5-7 minutes removing chips that are beginning crisp. Continue to cook remaining chips 2-3 minutes a time, flippine regularly, until all have begun to brown.  Allow to cool on a wire rack. The chips will continue to crisp up as they cool.

Roasted Winter Root Vegetables

Every once in a while a recipe will be posted on another blog and I know it is only a mere matter of days before I try it out...usually because I have been seeking inspiration for a particular ingredient.  In this case, the ingredients are the root veggies from the CSA.  Yes, I am still trying to work my way through the parsnips, potatoes, carrots, beets and turnips.  Wouldn't you know, this recipe uses all of them.  Jenny tosses the entire batch of roasted veggies with a wonderful balsamic dressing, topped with feta and pine nuts.  I know I should have tried with the feta...they need the extra burst of creamy saltiness.  The recipe also calls to toss the veggies in a balsamic dressing.  The dressing is amazing, and a welcome addition to many other salads, leafy or otherwise, but I found even half of a recipe to be a bit too much for the amount of roasted veggies.  The roasted veggies are just as wonderful with a little squeeze of lemon and a dash of salt.

Adapted from Jenny's recipe at Spoon Fork Bacon

serves 4

The Ingredients:
for the veggies
3-4 beets, peeled and cut into quarters
4-6 carrots, peeled and cut into 1" pieces on the diagonal
2 shallots, peeled and halved
2-4 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1" pieces on the diagonal
2 turnips, trimmed and cut into eighths
6-8 small purple potatoes, halved (or quartered if larger)
3 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

for the dressing:
1/2 shallot, minced
1 garlic of clove, minced
2 Tbsp  brown sugar
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

The Process:
for the veggies:

 Preheat the oven to 375.

Toss the veggies in oil, salt and pepper and divide evenly among two rimmed baking sheets.  Bake uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the veggies are tender and beginning to caramelize. 

Remove for oven and allow to cool slightly.

for the dressing:
Combine all of the ingredients 1-pint mason jar.  Using an immersion blender, mix until thick and well combined.  Or, seal tightly and shake.

to finish:
Toss the veggies with half of the dressing.  Sprinkle with feta, if desired.  Serve warm or cold.

Roasted Beet and Cranberry Sauce

Thanksgiving is just around the corner.  Grocery stores are pushing their turkeys and hams.  Pie filling, stuffing, spices, cranberry sauce, yams, and other assorted staples burst off of the end caps.  All around the country households are planning their traditional family dinner.  I suspect most read something like this:

Roast turkey
pan gravy
sage and onion stuffing
mashed potatoes
corn
sweet potato casserole
green bean casserole
dinner rolls
pumpkin pie

and of course, cranberry sauce

There must always be cranberry sauce.  

Ross and I have had a tift or two over the proper sauce to serve at Thanksgiving.  I like mine from scratch.  Chunky and spiked with citrus and cinnamon.  And Ross...his prefers from a can.  Homogenous.  Jellied.  And preferably in the ringed log that slides out of the can with a satisfying plop.  We usually compromise.  I make the sauce.  He gets a can of jellied goo to himself.

So knowing a can of cranberry sauce may be close I had, I don't feel so bad for serving this version up.  He'd turn his nose up at the beets anyway.

This cranberry sauce has a very subtle sweetness.  It is far more tart than many other sauces, but feel free to up the honey if you prefer yours a little sweeter.  The beets add an earthy sweetness to balance the tart berries.  The citrus cuts through a bit.  Pecans lend a wonderful toasted crunch to the texture and a dollop of creme fraiche or a sprinkling of soft goat cheese offers a wonderful smoothness that mellows and blends the other flavors.

adapted from a recipe courtesy of Driftless Organics

serves 4-5

The Ingredients:
5-7 small beets
1 Tbsp oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 orange, juice and zest
3 Tbsp honey
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup toasted pecans
1 oz soft goat cheese or creme fraiche

The Process:
Preheat the oven to 400.  Scrub the beets thoroughly.  Trim the tops and root tips away, do not peel.   Cut the beets into wedges.  Toss with oil, salt and pepper and spread in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Roast 30-40 minutes until the beets are tender and the outsides are beginning to caramelize.  Set aside to cool.

In a small saucepan, combine the cranberries, orange juice, zest, honey and cinnamon.  Stir and bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the berries begin to burst, 1about 10-15 minutes.  For a less chunky sauce, allow to cook about 5 minutes longer and gently mash the berries with the back of a spoon.  Add the roasted beets and stir to combine.  Transfer to a serving bowl and allow to cool slightly.

Sprinkle with pecans and cheese just prior to serving.