This dish falls into the category of “Almost Too Pretty to Eat”. Almost. The ingredients list can practically be sung to the tune of “My Favorite Things”, from “The Sound of Music”. I’ll wait…
While beets have a tendency to make your kitchen look like a crime scene, their earthy, garnet goodness is well worth the extra cleanup time. If you disagree, and you can find golden beets, by all means use them. Plus, when you add tarragon to anything, it is automatically more magically delicious.
Served on a bed of nice, creamy ricotta, this is a wonderful first course, or even a filling lunch entree for Meatless Mondays.
By the way, if you serve this over the corn milk whipped ricotta, we won’t tell. Promise.
Beets adapted from Gourmet Magazine, via Epicurious.
- 1 ½ lb beets (about 2 large)
- 3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp. honey
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 oranges, peeled, cut into segments, and diced
- ¼ cup pistachios, shelled, toasted, and chopped
- 1 tbsp. minced tarragon
- ½ cup whole milk ricotta
- Flaky sea salt
- In a large saucepan cover beets with salted water by 1 inch. Simmer beets, covered, 35 to 45 minutes, or until tender, and drain in a colander. Cool beets until they can be handled and slip off skins and stems. Dice beets.
- In a large skillet stir together vinegar, honey, and oil and add beets. Cook beet mixture with salt and pepper to taste over moderate heat, stirring, until heated through and coated well. Cool beets.
- Toss beets with oranges, pistachios and tarragon. To serve, spread a heaping spoonful of ricotta on the bottom each bowl and top with beet mixture. Garnish with sea salt.
Leave a Reply