If
you grew up during the 80s or earlier, we probably share similar offensive experiences
during our initial close encounters of the beet kind. Whether they snuck into your buffet plate
from the salad bar, were the vegetable part of a meal package deal on school,
hospital or military mess hall trays or your elders tried to casually and
deviously slip them onto the family table, they all came from the same place: a
dusty can from the pantry shelf. They
were rubbery, smelled funny and didn't taste quite right. The result: many of us despised the root
vegetable for years.
This
unfortunate canned vegetable consumption turned many folks off to produce. Canned corn was mushy, canned peas were even
more so, canned mushrooms were slimy and all green vegetables had that drab
olive cast and unpleasantly pungent flavor that results from overlooking. Does anyone else remember canned Veg All? This concoction was comprised of water-packed potatoes,
carrots, Lima beans and, if my aging memory serves correctly, celery. These vegetables were all
so overcooked that one could no longer distinguish any individual flavors other
than the added salt. In the words of
Alton Brown, not good eats!
Well,
folks, it's time to get fresh with your vegetables. Today, most home cooks have embraced the bold
colors, tasty flavors, crisp textures and every nutrient that fresh vegetables
have to offer. Today's broccoli
delivers a satisfying crunch and appealing emerald hue when steamed for two
minutes. Green beans are blanched for
just moments before their rendezvous with a bowl of ice water to cease the
cooking process. Vegetables are roasted
until their edges are delicately caramelized and the flavor nuances reach new
heights. We are finally taking
vegetables where no beet has gone before.
With the array of fresh produce that now abounds in our farm stands and
markets, combined with today's enthusiasm for cooking and for making healthier
choices in our food consumption, canned vegetables need to follow in the
footsteps of the dinosaurs.
The
above digression was necessary for telling the tale of the common garden
beet. The moral of the story will be
evident in this post's concluding paragraph.
You see, beets are not the rubbery maroon discs or strips whose image
stayed etched in our memory banks for all of those years. That was not a proper introduction to the humble beet. Fresh beets are bulbous-shaped root
vegetables, harvested from the soil by long, leafy stems. Their most popular hue is a deep garnet red,
but they are also available in golden yellow as well as with a creamy white
flesh striped with deep pink concentric rings.
The stalks of leaves are typically removed immediately after purchase to
prolong the shelf life of the beet during storage.
My
preferred method for preparing beets is to peel a combination of red and gold
beets with a vegetable peeler, lob off the tough end from which the stalks had
grown and cut them into wedges, quarters for smaller beets, sixths for
medium-sized ones and eighths for larger specimens. I deposit the cut beets into a roasting pan,
toss them with extra-virgin olive oil, sprinkle liberally with sea salt and
freshly cracked black pepper and pop the into a 450-degree oven to roast for
25-30 minutes. The two-toned result
adds a gorgeous, vibrant pop of fall color to the dinner plate. The texture is tender, but with a slight
yield and the flavor is subtly sweet and earthy.
As
your foodie friend, I feel it's only fair to pass along two warnings for the
before and after phases of beet consumption.
Before eating them, they should be peeled and they need to be diced,
sliced or cut into wedges. Beet juice
has an amazing dying power. It is used as
a natural food coloring as well as for some red garment dyes. It will stain any linen and porous surface
that it comes in contact with. Wear something
that you aren't too fond of and, because skin is not at all impervious to the
beet's dying effects, purchase a box of latex or other surgical-style gloves to
keep on hand for beet preparation.
Process the beets on a dishwasher-safe plastic cutting board instead of
your prized bamboo or Boos wooden board that you proudly display on the
counter. Keep all kitchen towels out of
reach and make sure that the cut beets or the peelings never touch your natural
stone material countertop. Metals and
glass are fine, your knife and roasting pan will be as good as new after washing. Now for the aftermath: no one ever wants to
discuss these matters, but let's keep it light and stay with me on this, it
could save you from a health insurance claim squabble. So you had beets last night. The next day, sometime after that morning
java, nature calls on you to make the daily offering to the porcelain
throne. You happen to glance downward as
you reach for the flusher handle and your heart immediately starts to pound in
panic. Enough said, you have now been
forewarned. This is not the time to
frantically dial your proctologist.
Similar alarming visual effects may also evoke the notion of either
calling your urologist or imbibing gluttonous quantities of water or cranberry
juice. Please refer back a few
sentences: beet dye is pervasive. Once your system has completed the digestion
of said beets, you'll be right as rain once again.
So
how do I feel about beets now? I love
them. How did I evolve past the
aversion? Several years ago, I was
browsing a culinary magazine in search of an interesting vegetable course for
the Thanksgiving table. I came across a
recipe that called for roasting the beets with a few other vegetables. Ask any toddler with picture books, visual
aids work wonders. The publication's
glossy photograph made them appear completely different and a lot more savory
than what I had previously been exposed to.
When I sampled that first bite on Thanksgiving Day, it was an
epiphany. This was not the same beet
that I had wanted to gag on many years earlier.
Tasting is believing, however, so for those of you who remain
unconvinced, I urge you to try the basic roasting method described above, or
this warm
beet salad or the following recipe and see for yourself why you should
never trust a dusty can and you should always get fresh with your vegetables.
Herb Roasted Vegetable Medley
Ingredients:
2
red beets, peeled and cut into sixths
2
gold beets, peeled and cut into sixths
2
turnips, peeled and cut into sixths
1
large parsnip, peeled and thickly sliced crosswise
3
Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into sixths
6
garlic cloves, peeled
4
shallots, peeled and halved lengthwise
1/3
cup olive oil
2
tablespoons minced fresh sage
Sea
salt
Freshly
cracked black pepper
Premium
quality balsamic vinegar
Preheat
oven to 450-degrees. Place all cut
vegetables, garlic and shallots in a roasting pan. Add the oil, sage, a generous sprinkle of
salt and pepper. Toss until all
vegetables are evenly coated with the oil, sage, salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring the vegetables
once halfway through cooking time.
Remove from the oven and immediately apply a light drizzle of the
balsamic vinegar. Serves six.
Food for Thought
In
addition to freshly harvested local beets, farm stands are soon to be brimming
with Brussels sprouts, apples, butternut and acorn squashes and heads of
cauliflower in various striking colors such as purple, lime green and golden
yellow. Visit your local farm stand
today and then try my roasted
Brussels sprouts with bacon and hazelnuts.
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