Using the Harvest: My Last Beets
I pulled the last four beets from my garden the other day; one golden, three red and a few very small. I didn’t grow that many this year so I wanted to do something different with these last few. The usual course would be roasting and slicing to eat by themselves or in salads. I’ve also juiced them, made into sauce, beet ravioli, beet soup, pureed beets, spicy beet chips and put them in stir-frys.
I remembered seeing a beet dish a while back that I’d wanted to recreate. It was presented as beet tartare, where the beets were roasted or boiled, small diced, mixed with a few items and plated with accoutrements. I had spinach and a small piece of sashimi grade salmon from Oto’s in the fridge. Something with an Asian twist was calling to me.
I roasted and small diced the beets. Wanting to use ponzu sauce as the flavoring agent, I needed something to bind them as I decided to pack them into a ramekin and invert them onto a plate. A little organic cottage cheese pressed through a fine mesh strainer and mixed with the ponzu worked great. It was light with a nice citrusy zing that paired well with the beets. I had a few very small beets left that I cut in half, scooped a hole in the center and added leftover cottage cheese/ponzu mixture.
The spinach dish I made was Gomaae (boiled spinach with a sauce made with ground sesame seeds) and we did eat the salmon sashimi style with a light garlic and ginger sauce.
If you like beets and Asian flavors, this might be a fun dish to try. Light and flavorful, it’s sure to please even those on the fence about beets! I’m not sure what to call it as I think of tartare as raw, so let's go with Ponzu Beets. If you can think of a better name, feel free to share!
Ponzu Beets
Ingredients:
4 medium beets, roasted or boiled, peeled and small diced
2 - 3 tablespoons cottage cheese (Nancy’s Low Fat Organic is great)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons ponzu sauce
A nice sea salt, for finishing
Freshly ground black pepper
Method:
Make sure to peel your beets when they are still warm, as it is easier to remove the skin. Finely mince the beets one at a time. Take your time to cut them uniformly; set aside.
Push 3 tablespoons of cottage cheese through a fine mesh strainer using a spatula. You may have to do this a few times to create a smooth paste.
Mix 2 tablespoons of cottage cheese paste with the oil and ponzu sauce to combine. Add the beets, stir gently to coat and season with black pepper to taste. Taste and add the additional tablespoon of cottage cheese paste if necessary.
Oil the inside of a 1 1/2 or 2-inch ramekin very lightly. Pack the beet mixture into the ramekin to fill, pressing down with the back of a spoon. Invert the ramekin onto a serving plate. You may have to tap the bottom of the ramekin several times to get the mixture to let go and come out. Finish by sprinkling a pinch of sea salt on top.
Serve with your favorite thin crackers or crostini toasted and rubbed with a piece of raw garlic. Makes two servings (four ramekins).
More on Beets…
They are high in frolic acid, calcium, potassium, magnesium, beta-carotene and iron. The red color comes from a pigment called betacyanin which is a powerful antioxidant.
Don’t throw away the greens! Beets are in the same plant family as Swiss chard but are a different variety. Beet greens taste similar to chard and can be cooked in the same ways. As with most greens, beet greens contain lots of great nutrients: vitamin C, chlorophyll, beta-carotene, folic acid, potassium and iron.