Roasting Weather Arrives

Who really needs official recipes in September and October in the Midwest, when the farmer’s market is full of flavorful in-season produce? So today, I just have some quick snapshots of what we’ve been eating. Yummy!

Yesterday I was working at home and it was sweater-weather, so I killed two birds with one stone by roasting some of my Saturday Farmer’s Market goodies and warming up the kitchen at the same time.  

Winter squash, orchard apples and onions

This is butternut from the market and another winter squash, from my neighbor’s garden. I peeled and sliced, sprinkled generously with freshly-ground nutmeg; added a little bit of cinnamon, kosher salt and pepper. On top, I added fresh orchard apples from our outing on Sunday, and sliced sweet yellow onion. Cover and bake at 350 for about 45 min. until soft.  Two very enthusiastic thumbs-up on this one from the kids. They had seconds, and Milo had thirds.

Fingerling potatoes - on the way into the oven

While the squash was baking, I threw in some beets (of course) for a later meal in the week on the bottom rack. And I tucked this dish of heirloom fingerling potatoes on the rack next to the squash, for tonight’s dinner. I had selected about 4 different varieties from the farmer’s market, all with exotic names I forgot immediately, but those dark ones are blue. I scrubbed the potatoes, then tossed with some sliced leek, purple onion, carrot, olive oil, dried thyme and rosemary, and fresh marjoram and oregano leaves. (cover until almost done). Look at those colors, mmm.

Our kitchen is still filled with the pungent smell of pesto-making

Tom’s been harvesting the basil that Milo and I grew from seed way back in April. With the squash, we ate pesto ziti with freshly-grated Parmesan (more thumbs-up), and an unbelievably good spinach recipe, which I’ll share later this week.

Beet and Potato Salad with Beet Greens and Blue Cheese

This is a combination of a couple of different recipes, with a nod to Martha Stewart, who has a similar recipe which uses the beet greens. I made this for Labor Day BBQ with our neighbors. The bright colors look great on a buffet!

Beet and Potato Salad with Beet Greens and Blue Cheese

• About 6 smallish/medium red/pink (not purple) beets, roasted, cooled, peeled and diced.
• About 6-8 medium Idaho gold potatoes (or other waxy potato). Boil with skins on, toss on some vinegar and oil to coat, cool. Peel and dice (you can skip the peeling if you like.)
• Sweet onion, 1 medium, chopped 
• Salad oil, about 1/2 cup
• White sweet vinegar, about 1/4-1/3 cup total. I used a combination of mostly white balsalmic and a little seasoned rice vinegar, which is really sweet.
• Salt and pepper
• Blue cheese, about 2-3 oz. I used an amish blue from Whole Foods, but any stinky cheese will do. I wouldn't use pre-crumbled crumbles.
• Beet greens, cooked as shown below recipe

Gently combine the cooled, diced beets, potatoes, and onion. Mix the oil and vinegar, adding salt and pepper to taste. Dress the salad with the oil and vinegar, stirring gently. You may need to add more or less, depending on how absorbent the potatoes are, your own preferences, size of the beets and potatoes you used, etc. You can also change the ratio to add more vinegar if you don't mind a stronger vinegar flavor.

Taste the salad and when it seems about right, put in a serving bowl. Garnish the top with dollops of the beet greens (be sparing - I used about half of what the greens from my 6 beets made) and then crumbles of the cheese. Chill until ready to serve.

Beet Greens

• olive oil, about 2 tablespoons
• 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, peeled, minced
• Beet greens from the beets, rinsed and trimmed and chopped into medium pieces. You'll only use about half of them, so don't worry if you have to discard a lot.
• Kosher salt (optional)

Heat olive oil on low/med in large skillet. Add garlic and cook until golden. Add greens and allow to cook down until completely wilted. If necessary, cover and stir occasionally. It will take about 5 minutes. Salt (optional) to taste. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Beets

Beets are like cilantro. Either you love them or they taste like dirt, and no amount of coaxing or persuasion can change the genetic programming of the tastebuds. 

Luckily, my whole family got the "loves beets" gene, because I don't think I could resist cooking with them this time of year when they're piled up all come-hither at the farmer's market. And they're great for you. The greens are higher in iron than spinach, and both the greens and the roots are packed with vitamins and antioxidants (lots of folate and Vitamin A.)

They're a useful little root, too. Until I left Michigan and couldn't find Pioneer any longer, I didn't realize that people don't make baking sugar out of beets everywhere. They also can be used to manufacture bioplastics. 

All that, and good-looking

In the fall, I'll be posting Tom's borscht recipe, but in the summer I usually just roast the beets and leave them in the fridge until I'm ready to use them. 

The other day at the farmer's market a shopper asked me how long to cook the beets so that they are still firm enough to use in a recipe that involves beets on a skewer and a dipping sauce. I didn't have an answer for her at the time, but after thinking about the times I've left my beets in the oven overly-long, I don't think they ever lose their firm, kind of gelatinous texture. 

More importantly, I forgot to ask her about the skewered beets recipe! Anyone have one? Would love to try it.

Roast beets

Preheat oven to 350

If this is your first time using beets and you've purchased the classic purple variety - be aware that the juice stains like crazy, including wooden cutting boards. PARENTS! Warn your kids (and their daycare providers) that their pee is going to be a bit pinkish/orangish the day after a meal of beets.

Gently rinse the beets. The skin will come off later, so don't worry about a little dirt. Don't trim the skin because you don't want the juice to flow out onto the pan. Trim off the greens, leaving about 1/2 inch of stem. (If the greens are still fresh, save them for cooking.) Leave some of the rooty bottom, too, again to keep the juice inside the beet.

I've seen recipes that say to put oil and salt and pepper on the beets at this point. But the skins will be coming off, so I skip that step. Put some aluminum foil in the bottom of a 9x13 pan (any pan with edges in case of juicing.) Put beets in the pan about an inch apart. Cover with aluminum foil. Roast for 45 minutes to an hour until cooked.

Allow the beets to cool enough so that they can be handled. Remove peels under running water (they will come right off.) If you will not be using the beets right away, they can be refrigerated with the skins on until you're ready to use them. 


Last night I prepared the beets I roasted a few days ago by just pan-sauteing with onion. Milo ran in from playing with the neighbors and grabbed a bite (of beet) out of the serving dish. "Mom, is this onion? Because if it is, it's the most perfect onion ever grown." 

best thing about summer cooking with fresh veggies: you really don't have to do much.

Rating: Four big, enthusiastic thumbs-up from my young diners.

Salad

After reading this post, you'll be shopping for beets this weekend, right? I've made myself hungry, at least. Here are a couple of other easy ideas. 

Roasted beets plus sweet onion and vinaigrette, garnished with hard-boiled egg slices, make a tasty and attractive salad.

If you've bought golden beets, you can use them in a summer potato salad. Also add sweet onions, some yellow and red bell peppers, and a dressing made with white balsalmic vinegar (1 part), olive oil (2 parts), some dijon mustard, and herbs of your choice. (I'd choose something sweet - marjoram and thyme, maybe.) Add a bit of honey if the dressing is too acidic. The sweetness of the beets complements the vinegar and the bland potatoes. Plus: mayonnaise- and egg-free, so you can pack it in your picnic basket.

USDA Beet Fact Sheet

Illinois Extension on Beets (scroll down on this page for another roasted beet recipe)